Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Central Laboratory, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
J Environ Public Health. 2022 May 26;2022:6113346. doi: 10.1155/2022/6113346. eCollection 2022.
The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the environment is a global challenge. Pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics and analgesics have been reported in various environmental matrices at varying concentrations. The major disposal route for unused and expired pharmaceuticals in Ghana is throwing them into dustbins. Although there are laws on the proper disposal patterns of drugs, these laws are poorly implemented. Sunyani is a fast-growing community with several health facilities that dispense medications daily. The purchase and use of medications among households are also high. However, no data exist on the disposal patterns of pharmaceuticals within the Sunyani Municipality. This study aims to identify the disposal patterns for unused and expired medications by households and pharmacies within the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 persons in homes and 35 persons from randomly selected pharmacies and over-the-counter medication shops (OTCMs) within the Sunyani Municipality. A face-to-face interview approach using structured questionnaires for each respondent was employed. Household respondents disposed of unused and expired medications mainly through dumping in garbage cans (70.8%), incineration (11.5%), and flushing down the sink (9%). Pharmaceutical shop respondents also disposed of unused and expired medications into dump cans, by incineration, through the Food and Drugs Authority of Ghana, and took back to pharmaceutical wholesalers. Disposal practices observed in this study by households and pharmacy respondents were largely inappropriate. This could be due to the lack of education on the proper disposal patterns available to these respondents. It is recommended that guidelines on safe disposal be put in place, and a structured procedure for collecting unused and expired pharmaceuticals should be introduced.
药品在环境中的出现是一个全球性的挑战。抗生素和止痛药等药品已在各种环境基质中以不同浓度被检出。在加纳，未使用和过期药品的主要处理途径是将其扔进垃圾桶。尽管有关于药品适当处理方式的法律，但这些法律执行不力。萨尼亚尼是一个快速发展的社区，有几家每天分发药物的卫生设施。家庭购买和使用药物的情况也很高。然而，萨尼亚尼市没有关于药品处理方式的数据。本研究旨在确定加纳萨尼亚尼市家庭和药店未使用和过期药物的处理方式。在萨尼亚尼市进行了一项描述性的横断面研究，共有 400 名家庭受访者和 35 名随机选择的药店和非处方药商店（OTCM）的受访者参加。采用面对面访谈的方式，为每位受访者使用结构化问卷。家庭受访者主要通过将未使用和过期的药物扔进垃圾桶（70.8%）、焚烧（11.5%）和冲下水槽（9%）来处理未使用和过期的药物。药店受访者也将未使用和过期的药物扔进垃圾桶、通过加纳食品和药物管理局进行焚烧，并退还给药品批发商。家庭和药店受访者观察到的处理做法在很大程度上是不恰当的。这可能是由于缺乏对这些受访者可用的适当处理方式的教育。建议制定安全处理指南，并引入收集未使用和过期药品的结构化程序。
