Prevalence and Predictors of Storage of Unused Medicines among Households in Northwestern Ethiopia

Background. Unused medicines are those that are expired, discontinued, deteriorated, and/or not intended for any future use. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of unused medicines and predicting factors in households of Awi zone, Amhara regional state, Northwestern Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. A survey of unused medicines was conducted through interviews with representatives of households. The collected data were entered with Epi Data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. Predictors of storage of unused medicines were assessed through binary and multivariable logistic regression methods. A confidence interval of 95% and a P-value of <0.05 were considered to declare statistical significance. Results. Of the total of 507 households surveyed, 70 (13.8%) were found to have unused medicines. These constituted twenty-eight types of unused medicines. Anti-infective medicines were the most commonly unused medicines, 58.9%. People who pay for medicines by themselves, those who lacked knowledge about medicines, and those who did not receive enough counseling about medicines they took were found to be 2.6, 4.8, and 3 times more likely to have unused medicines, respectively. Conclusion. A significant amount of unused medicines was present in the community. Strategies aimed at educating the public regarding the safe disposal of unused medicines and an organized method of collection and disposal of unused medicines in the community need to be introduced

Unused and Expired Medications: Are They a Threat? A Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: A significant amount of potentially effective and lifesaving medications were wasted at the health facilities due to lack of a system for checking their effectiveness and returning them to the system. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of unused medications and related consequences in selected health facilities of Awi zone, Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study design supplemented by a qualitative approach was employed. Descriptive data were collected using checklists while interviews were conducted with respective personnel at the health facilities. Results: A total of 4 health facilities were included in the study. During the 1 month of study period, 56 types of medications were found unused at the health facilities. Anti-infective medications were the most commonly unused medications 36.4%. At the in-patient departments of the 4 hospitals, a total of 173 medications were found unused. Similarly, 605 medications were found wasted at the pharmacy stores of those hospitals in the 2009 fiscal year. Conclusion: A significant amount of unused medications were present at the health facilities. Health facilities need to monitor health professionals strictly follow national and international treatment guidelines and monitor the rational use of medications