Mahara Gehendra, Wu Zhihong, Ge Qi, Li Zhiwei, Zhang Jinxin
Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Research Center, Baiyunshan Hejigong Pharmaceutical Factory, Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2021 Apr 23;14:1711-1721. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S301910. eCollection 2021.
The household expired drugs disposal has been a huge public issue in many countries, including China, which may affect various side and toxic effects on human health and environment, water resources, and soil too. This paper explores the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Guangzhou city residents regarding household expired drugs and their effect on human health and provided the scientific pieces of evidence to carry out the long-term recovery mechanism for expired medicines.
An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-structured questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, including univariate and unconditional logistic regression models, was carried out to analyze the data.
A total of 613 community residents with a 99.4% response rate enrolled for the study. More than half 60.2% of residents stated that expired drugs pollute the environment, soil, and water resources, where 81.2% of respondents knew that it would produce side effects or toxic effects. However, still, 71.6% of respondents disposed of directly into the trash bin or sink, and, only 24.8% had good practice that they use a designed recycling bin. Likewise, only 8.3% of respondents placed expired drugs into collection points nearly 3-5 times in a year, while 65.1% of participants never disposed of in the collection point, which found a worse practice.
Overall, the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Guangzhou residents regarding household expired drugs disposal were not ideal. To improve the resident's awareness about family expired drugs disposal, ensure the financial support for the recycling process, establish an accessible and acceptable recycling point, and introduce relevant laws and regulations for the long-term mechanism.
家庭过期药品处理在包括中国在内的许多国家一直是一个重大的公共问题，这可能会对人类健康、环境、水资源和土壤产生各种副作用和毒性影响。本文探讨了广州市居民对家庭过期药品的认知、态度和行为及其对人类健康的影响，并为实施过期药品长期回收机制提供了科学依据。
采用自行设计的问卷进行观察性横断面研究。进行描述性分析，包括单变量和无条件逻辑回归模型，以分析数据。
共有613名社区居民参与了该研究，回复率为99.4%。超过一半（60.2%）的居民表示过期药品会污染环境、土壤和水资源，其中81.2%的受访者知道过期药品会产生副作用或毒性影响。然而，仍有71.6%的受访者直接将过期药品扔进垃圾桶或水槽，只有24.8%的受访者有良好的做法，即使用专门设计的回收箱。同样，只有8.3%的受访者一年中将近3至5次将过期药品放入收集点，而65.1%的参与者从未在收集点处理过过期药品，这表明处理情况较差。
总体而言，广州市居民对家庭过期药品处理的知识、态度和行为并不理想。为提高居民对家庭过期药品处理的认识，确保回收过程的资金支持，建立一个方便且可接受的回收点，并出台相关法律法规以建立长期机制。
