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Effectiveness of an intervention to increase the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the return and disposal of unused medications

Lai PSM 1 , Tan KM 2 , Lee HG 3 , Wong YY 4 , Azhari Wasi NA 5 , Sim SM 6

Affiliations 

  • 1 Associate Professor B Pharm, PhD, Department of Primary Care Medicine, (University of Malaya Primary Care Research Group) Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Email: plai@ummc.edu.my
  • 2 Assoc Prof, MB BCh BaO (Hons), MRCP (UK), Department of Medicine (Division of Geriatric Medicine), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Senior Lecturer, B Pharm, M Pharm, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Pharmacist, B Pharm, Pharmacy Department, University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 5 Pharmacist B Pharm, Pharmacy Department, University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 6 Professor B Sc, PhD, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malays Fam Physician, 2021 Mar 25;16(1):56-63.
PMID: 33948143 DOI: 10.51866/oa1013

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention (Safe D.U.M.P) to improve the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the return and disposal of unused medications. Community-dwelling adults in Malaysia who could understand English were recruited from two healthcare events. Participants were asked to fill out the validated Return and Disposal of Unused Medications (ReDiUM) questionnaire (pre-intervention), view six educational intervention posters on how to dispose of unused medications (Safe D.U.M.P), then answer the ReDiUM questionnaire immediately after viewing the posters (post-intervention). A total of 390 out of 456 participants participated (response rate=85.5%). Most were female (71%) with a median age of 42 years. The overall knowledge of participants significantly increased from 60% to 80% (p<0.001). However, no improvement was seen regarding their overall attitude and practice. This outcome was as expected as it may be more difficult to improve attitude and practice (when compared to knowledge) with a single educational session.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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