Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical Faculty, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Int J Clin Pharm. 2012 Aug;34(4):604-10. doi: 10.1007/s11096-012-9652-0. Epub 2012 May 30.
Improper disposal of medications potentially poses a significant environmental risk and storage of expired and unused medications in households provides an increased risk of accidental childhood poisonings.
The objective of this study was to investigate the storage and disposal habits of medications amongst the population in the South Bačka District of Serbia, and to gain insight into the attitudes and knowledge of the population about the proper disposal of medications. Setting Households in South Bačka District.
The study was conducted during the 6-month period from February 2010 to July 2010 and involved a random sample of households. The questionnaire-based study was performed by a trained interviewer.
number of expired and unused medications in families, behavior and knowledge about the disposal of medications.
Of 230 families, 208 (108 urban and 100 rural) agreed to participate and complete the questionnaire(90 % response rate). The drugs were mostly kept in a specific place-home pharmacy (89.8 % [urban] and 89.0 % [rural]). Exposure of children to medications in the home environment was similar in urban and rural families (19.6 % [urban] and 23.1 % [rural]). The frequency of expired medications was not observed to be different between the urban and rural households (10.3 % [urban] and 11.8 % [rural]). The most common method for disposal of household medications is disposal in the garbage (85.6 % [urban] and 74.5 % [rural]) or in the toilet (8.7 % [urban] and 6.4 % [rural]). However, inconsistent with disposal practices, half of the urban and rural participants thought that throwing medications in the garbage, toilet, or sink has a detrimental effect on the environment.
Public services in Serbia, including government and health sectors, need to be more proactive about educating people on how to store and dispose medications, as well as finding a way for implementation of the law on medications wastage destruction.
药物处理不当可能会对环境造成重大风险，而家庭中过期和未使用的药物的储存则会增加儿童意外中毒的风险。
本研究旨在调查塞尔维亚南巴奇卡地区居民的药物储存和处理习惯，并深入了解居民对药物正确处理的态度和知识。
南巴奇卡地区的家庭。
该研究于 2010 年 2 月至 7 月进行，为期 6 个月，采用随机抽样家庭的方式。问卷调查由经过培训的访谈员进行。
家庭中过期和未使用的药物数量、处理药物的行为和知识。
230 个家庭中有 208 个（城市 108 个，农村 100 个）同意参与并完成了问卷调查（应答率 90%）。药物主要存放在专门的地方——家庭药箱（城市 89.8%[农村 89.0%）。城市和农村家庭中儿童在家中接触药物的情况相似（城市 19.6%[农村 23.1%）。城市和农村家庭过期药物的频率没有差异（城市 10.3%[农村 11.8%）。处理家庭药物最常见的方法是将药物丢弃在垃圾中（城市 85.6%[农村 74.5%）或厕所中（城市 8.7%[农村 6.4%）。然而，与处理实践不一致的是，一半的城市和农村参与者认为将药物扔进垃圾、厕所或水槽会对环境造成不利影响。
塞尔维亚的公共服务机构，包括政府和卫生部门，需要更加积极主动地教育人们如何储存和处理药物，并找到实施药物浪费销毁法的方法。
