Assessment of awareness and practices on disposal of expired and unused pharmaceuticals among community in Kemaman, Terengganu

Medicines have become ingrained in our daily routines. Increased pharmaceutical use has resulted from a global increase in health-seeking awareness and behavior across time. Dumping of pharmaceutical waste at landfills due to improper waste management in the community has a detrimental effect on environmental pollution, especially soil pollution and water pollution caused by landfills. Therefore, the research aims to assess the awareness and disposal practices of pharmaceutical waste among communities at Kemaman. A researcher-made, validated and reliable questionnaire consisting of 39 questions related to socio-demographics, knowledge, attitudes and practices related to the disposal of unused and expired medicines. Questionnaire distribution was conducted through Google Form and data collection was done through online methods. In order to do so, an online questionnaire link was provided to the participants through the WhatsApp social network. A total of 386 participants took part in this study. The results of the study show that respondents' awareness of the issue of medication waste is high, but more than 60% of respondents have incorrect disposal practices. Demographic characteristics of the respondents do not affect their awareness and practices of the disposal of expired and unused medicines where by, the relationship between awareness and practice with demographic characteristics of respondents is not statistically significant. Only the respondent's level of education for practice showed a statistically significant (p<0.05). The respondents know that inappropriate medicine waste practices can cause harm to health and the environment. However, the study found that there is still a gap between their awareness and practice in disposing of medicines.