Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Pharm Pract. 2020 Jun;28(3):255-266. doi: 10.1111/ijpp.12592. Epub 2019 Nov 25.
The aim of the current study was to describe prescription medication sharing behaviours (i.e. borrowing and lending) among adults living in Saudi Arabia.
This cross-sectional survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia during December 2018. The eligibility criteria were an ability to communicate in Arabic or English and aged ≥18 years. An online survey was distributed to a convenience sample, supplemented by snowballing, by email and social media via an Internet link leading to a web-based survey platform in QuestionPro to assess their medication sharing behaviours. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the associations.
A total of 667 completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of borrowing and lending prescription medication was found to be 14% and 16% in 2018 (past year), respectively. Twenty per cent of participants revealed that they had given a medication prescribed for one child to another child in their care, and 75% reported having leftover prescription medicine at home. The majority (90%) had borrowed or lent on one to three occasions. A wide range of medications were borrowed and lent mainly between immediate family members. Different reasons have been identified for medicine borrowing or lending behaviours.
Borrowing and lending prescription medications are a common practice in the Saudi population. Further research is warranted into the development of successful approaches or interventions to reduce medication sharing behaviour.
本研究旨在描述沙特阿拉伯成年人的处方药物共享行为（即借用和出借）。
本横断面调查于 2018 年 12 月在沙特阿拉伯进行。纳入标准为能够用阿拉伯语或英语交流且年龄≥18 岁。通过电子邮件和社交媒体以在线链接的形式向一个方便样本分发在线调查，通过链接可进入基于网络的 QuestionPro 调查平台，以评估他们的药物共享行为。采用单变量和多变量分析来评估相关性。
共有 667 人完成了问卷。2018 年（过去一年）发现，分别有 14%和 16%的参与者有过借药和送药行为。20%的参与者表示曾将一种开给一个孩子的药物给另一个孩子服用，75%的参与者表示家中有剩余的处方药。大多数（90%）人有过一到三次的借药或送药经历。借药和送药的范围很广，主要发生在直系亲属之间。确定了不同的借药或送药行为的原因。
在沙特人群中，借药和送药是一种常见的做法。有必要进一步研究成功的方法或干预措施来减少药物共享行为。
