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Volume 13 Issue 4 (April) 2024

Original Articles

A cross-sectional survey of the pattern of medication disposal practices of unused and expired drugs among medical students
Dr. Jyothi D B, Dr. Swetha K, Dr. Savitha A, Dr. Vishnu K

Background: Majority of Indian communities lack knowledge about how to properly dispose of theunwanted medications.According to the Bio-Medical waste Management (BMW) rule of 2016, any medication that has expired or been discontinued is considered biomedical trash. Pharmaceutical waste disposal is a major issue for healthcare professionals globally, especially in developing countries like India. The question of how the medical students, who are the future medical professionals,dispose of unwanted and expired drugs has received very little attention so far. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate how medical students manage unused and expired medications. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 143 second year medical students at our institute. Students willing to participate in the study and who gave written informed consent were included and their answers were documented by a self-administered structured questionnaire. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel and subjected to relevant statistical tests for analysis. Results: The current study involved 143 second-year undergraduate medical students. Most of the students (62.2%) said they would toss the unused medicine in dust bins at home, and the municipality would come and take them. Conclusion: Understanding and following the proper disposal procedures for unwanted and expired medications is essential for safeguarding both human health and the environment.Despite the fact that the WHO has published guidelines for the appropriate disposal of unused and expired pharmaceuticals, appropriate regulations should be put in place to implement the procedures for the proper disposal of them in order to save our ecology.

 
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