Publication: EFFECTIVENESS OF PHARMACIST-LED EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION IN IMPROVING THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE OF THE SAFE DISPOSAL OF UNUSED AND EXPIRED MEDICATIONS AMONG THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN KLANG VALLEY, MALAYSIA
Date
2023
Authors
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Publisher
International Medical University
Abstract
Introduction: The consequences of unused and expired medications encompass
environmental contamination, increased global warming risks, wastage of public
resources, as well as unintentional poisoning resulting from accidental ingestion. To
facilitate the return of unused or excess medications by patients, the MoH in Malaysia
has implemented the “Return YourMedicines Program”. The goal of this study was to
assess the effectiveness of a pharmacist-led educational intervention in educating the
public and enhancing the appropriate disposal of unused and expired medications.
Methods: An interventional research study had been carried out for a duration of
eleven months from October 2022 to August 2023. The respondents participated in
this study via invitation from email, WhatsApp messages, and other social media
platforms. All respondents had answered a pre-intervention questionnaire prior to the
educational intervention, followed by seven days of educational intervention, as well
as a final data collection on the seventh day. Results: The study successfully obtained
397 responses in pre-intervention, and 353 responses in post-intervention, thereby
achieving a response rate of 89%. The knowledge score of the respondents had
enhanced to a sufficient level from 44.4% to 91.2% upon completion of the educational
intervention. Vitamins (Npre=194, 48.9%; Npost=222, 62.9%), and cough preparation
(Npre=193, 48.6%; Npost=219, 62.0%) were the two most widely existing unused and/or
expired medications before and after educational intervention. An excessive number of medications (Npre=230, 57.9%; Npost=215, 60.9%), and improvement in the illness
condition (Npre=158, 39.8%; Npost=261, 73.9%) were known as the two most common
reasons for having unused and/or expired medications before and after educational
intervention. Approximately 90% of the respondents (n=317) would participate in the
“Return Your Medicines Program” in managing unused and/or expired medications
after receiving the educational intervention. Conclusion: The educational intervention
demonstrated a positive impact in enhancing the knowledge, attitude, and practice
regarding the safe disposal of unused and expired medications.
Keywords: unused, expired, medications, effectiveness, intervention
Description
Keywords
Pharmacists, Knowledge, Attitude, Surveys and Questionnaires