Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Disposal Practice of Unused and Expired Pharmaceuticals in Community of Adigrat City, Northern Ethiopia

Background. Medicines have become part of our day-to-day life. Due to different reasons, patients may not use all the medications dispensed to them. The storage of drugs at home promotes self-medication, which results in variety of adverse consequences. Global growth in health-seeking awareness and behavior among people has resulted in increment of medicine consumption over years. However, Ethiopians have little awareness about proper disposal of unused and expired pharmaceuticals. Besides, large quantities remain unused or expired since not all medications given to the consumers are consumed. Hence, this study could serve as an indicator for the country policy makers concerning pharmaceutical waste management. Objective. To assess knowledge, attitude, and disposal practice of unused and expired pharmaceuticals in the community of Adigrat city, Tigray, Ethiopia, 2019. Methodology. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 359 respondents from the residents of Adigrat city. Semistructured questionnaires, which focused on knowledge, attitudes, and disposal practices for unused and expired medications, were used to collect data from respondents. Epi-data 3.0 suite and the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 were used in data entry and analysis. Results. All of the 359 returned questionnaires were valid for data entry and analysis. Of the 359 respondents, 57.7% were men and the majority (93%) were Orthodox Christians. Almost half of the respondents (50.14%) have good knowledge concerning the disposal of unused and expired pharmaceuticals. Most (82.2%) of the respondents have a positive attitude towards the disposal of unused and expired pharmaceuticals. Around fifty-two (52.4) of the respondents had unused medicines stored at home, with analgesics being the most common (41.5%). Around three-quarters (75.2%) and 63% of the respondents discarded unused and expired medicines in the garbage bins, respectively. Conclusion. Although the majority of the respondents had a positive attitude towards the disposal of unused and expired medications, almost half of the sample population were unaware of proper disposal practices. Furthermore, less were inclined to practice proper disposal of unused and expired medications in the city. Therefore, we recommend further studies that focus on how the disposal attitude of the population can influence their knowledge and practice of the disposal of unused and expired medications.

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Health Seeking Behaviour among Medical Students in a Teaching Hospital of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Journal of Nepal Medical Association ◽

10.31729/jnma.4741 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 58 (221) ◽

Author(s):

Mukta Singh Bhandari ◽

Jagdish Chataut

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Teaching Hospital ◽

Data Entry ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Health Seeking ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Institutional Review ◽

Hospital Clinic

Introduction: Medical students are more prone to suffer from various physiological and psychologicalproblems but rather than seeking for formal health care, they tend to do informal consultation andoften practice self medication. Thus, this study aimed to find out the health seeking behavior ofmedical students. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done among first and second year medicalstudents of a teaching hospital from September to November 2019 after taking ethical approvalfrom Institutional Review Committe. Total of 235 students were included in the study and selfadministered questionnaire was used. Data entry and analysis was done using Statistical Packagefor Social Sciences version 20.0. Results: Among 235 students who participated in the study, 172 (73%) reported having healthproblems in the last 12 months, and fever and headache were commonly reported by 21 (13%) and 18(50%) students, respectively. Total of 112 (65%) students visited hospital/clinic for health problemsand reason given for not visiting hospital/clinic was 12 (28%) thinking that the problem was minor.University hospital was the most preferred place 189 (80%) during health problem and parents werethe first people for consultation 116 (49%). Mean duration of absenteeism was 2.17±4.1 days and 167(88%) visited hospital more than five times. Conclusions: Health problems were common among students and most of them required multiplehospital visits. Many students seeked for health from hospital/ clinic but informal consultationswere also seen.

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Knowledge, attitude and practices about dengue fever among adults living in Pwani Region, Tanzania in 2019

African Health Sciences ◽

10.4314/ahs.v20i4.12 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 1601-9

Author(s):

Method Kazaura

Keyword(s):

Dengue Fever ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Measures ◽

Health Seeking ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Face To Face ◽

Seeking Behavior ◽

Internal Migrations

Background: Dengue fever (DF) is currently widespread in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Among the triggers of ep- idemic include urbanization and internal migrations. Within the past few years, there have been DF outbreaks in Tanzania. Although Pwani region is among the predicted risk areas for the DF, there is insufficient data about people’s knowledge, attitude and practices towards prevention of DF in their settings. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practices about DF among adults in Pwani region in Tanzania. Methods: The cross-sectional study conducted in Mkuranga District, Pwani region in Tanzania. We used face-to-face inter- views to collect data. The main analytical procedure was descriptive using frequencies. Results: The majority, 97.7%, were aware of DF. Nevertheless, almost 80% had a low knowledge on symptoms, transmis- sion and vector control measures. Furthermore, less than 20% had positive attitude towards dengue fever prevention, sever- ity of the illness and health seeking behavior. Conclusion: Lack of enough knowledge and positive attitude about disease transmission, symptoms and preventive meas- ures put the population at high risk of contracting the disease. There is need to create and improve friendly, correct and simple information, education and education messages for the rural populations. Keywords: Attitude; Dengue; knowledge; practice; rural.

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A cross-sectional study of antibiotic misuse among Chinese children in developed and less developed provinces

The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries ◽

10.3855/jidc.11938 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (02) ◽

pp. 129-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yannan Xu ◽

Jingjing Lu ◽

Chenhui Sun ◽

Xiaomin Wang ◽

Yanhong Jessika Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antibiotic Use ◽

Educational Interventions ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Shaanxi Province ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Development Levels ◽

At Home

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance is a global health crisis and primarily caused by antibiotic misuse. Antibiotic misuse among children is particularly concerning, and its prevalence may vary from region to region in China with different development levels. Methodology: Zhejiang and Shaanxi were selected to represent developed and less developed provinces in China, respectively. Data of 2924 parents in Zhejiang and 3355 parents in Shaanxi whose children were 0-13 years old were collected through multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling and a self-administrated questionnaire. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were used for statistical analysis. Results: Compared to parents in Zhejiang, those in Shaanxi were more likely to keep antibiotics for children at home, to engage in self-medication with antibiotics for children, and to make their children take antibiotics prophylactically. While there were no significant provincial differences between parents’ requests for antibiotics during pediatric consultations, parents in Shaanxi province were more likely to receive prescribed antibiotics. Conclusions: Children in less developed provinces face higher risks of antibiotic misuse at home as well as when attending medical practitioners. Comprehensive educational interventions are required to improve antibiotic use for children all over China but particularly in less developed provinces such as Shaanxi. Furthermore, non-prescription sales and over-prescribing of antibiotics should be reduced by targeted strategies.

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Influence of leftover antibiotics on self-medication with antibiotics for children: a cross-sectional study from three Chinese provinces

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033679 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. e033679 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Chenhui Sun ◽

Yanhong Jessika Hu ◽

Xiaomin Wang ◽

Jingjing Lu ◽

Leesa Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Household Income ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Regression Models ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Medical Background ◽

At Home

ObjectivesTo investigate leftover antibiotics and their influence on self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) for Chinese children, and further explore the different influences of leftovers from two main sources: previous prescriptions and pharmaceutical purchases.DesignA cross-sectional questionnaire study.SettingThe participants were approached through kindergartens and primary schools as well as in vaccination clinics.ParticipantsA total of 9526 parents from three Chinese provinces whose children were aged 0–13 years completed the survey.Outcome measuresThe prevalence of keeping antibiotics at home for children and the proportion of leftover antibiotics from two main sources were measured by a self-administrated questionnaire. Logistic regression models were established to examine the association between keeping antibiotics at home and SMA for children, specifically the risks of leftovers from two main sources.ResultsOverall, 4580 (48.1%) reported keeping antibiotics at home for children. Among those who had leftovers, 2891 (63.1%) reported that their leftovers came from previous prescriptions and 1619 (35.3%) reported that their leftovers came from pharmaceutical purchases. Mothers, older age of child, higher household income, higher education level and medical background were significantly associated with keeping antibiotics at home. Keeping antibiotics at home was significantly associated with SMA for children (adjusted OR=4.91, 95% CI 3.84 to 6.28). Particularly, compared with parents who did not keep antibiotics at home, parents who kept leftover antibiotics from previous prescriptions and those whose leftovers came from pharmaceutical purchases were 3.80 (95% CI 2.89 to 5.00) and 6.45 (95% CI 4.89 to 8.51) times more likely to engage in SMA for children, respectively.ConclusionsKeeping antibiotics at home for children was pervasive in China. Most leftovers came from previous prescriptions, while those from pharmacies had a higher risk of SMA for children.

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HEALTH SEEKING BEHAVIOR TOWARDS MINOR AILMENTS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA

International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽

10.22159/ijpps.2021v13i2.39596 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 39-43

Author(s):

LI-YING TAN ◽

SIEW SIANG CHUA

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Health Seeking ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Minor Ailments ◽

Seeking Behavior ◽

The One ◽

Source Of Information

Objective: This study was conducted to identify the types of minor ailments encountered by university students in Malaysia and the action taken in response to these ailments. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate students from the various faculties in a major private and a public university in Malaysia. A researcher stationed at different areas of the universities to recruit respondents. If the student agreed to participate, he/she would sign a consent form and then self-filled a structured questionnaire. Results: Of the 856 respondents included in this study, 68.6% were female and 60.6% rated their health status as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. During the one month period prior to the study, 87.4% of the respondents encountered at least one minor ailment. The five most common minor ailments encountered were headache (58.1%), common cold (42.8%), sore throat (42.6%), cough (40.3%) and back pain (27.6%). The main actions taken were rest at home and self-medication. The most common drug used for the treatment of minor ailments was paracetamol (49% of the respondents). Other drugs were used by less than 10% of the respondents. The main source of information was from parents (63.7%), followed by doctors (59.9%), internet (57.9%), pharmacists (33.9%) and friends (33.5%). Conclusion: Headache is more common among university students compared to the general population. Further studies are required to understand the cause of headache among this population.

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Gender Stereotyping Among School-Going Female and Male Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Rural Area of Western Maharashtra, India

Journal of Community Health Research ◽

10.18502/jchr.v10i1.5826 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vivek Baliram Waghachavare ◽

Girish Bhimrao Dhumale ◽

Jitesh Hanmantrao Kadam

Keyword(s):

Rural Area ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Data Entry ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Gender Stereotyping ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Multi Stage ◽

And Gender

Introduction: Gender stereotyping is the generalized and ambiguous impression of an individual's roles in society based on one's gender, remarkably difficult to abandon. These biases play an important role in vocational choices. The aim of the current research was to study attitudes towards women, gender stereotyping, and gender biases among adolescent boys and girls from a rural area. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted from Sept. 2016 to Aug. 2017 among rural school-going adolescents. A total of 826 samples were included in the study with convenience multi-stage sampling. Statistical analysis was done using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and Mann-Whitney U test. The data entry and analysis were performed using MS Excel and SPSS-22 with 5 % significant level. Results: The mean age of 826 participants was 13.99 years with 297 (36%) being males. A higher percentage of the participants had a positive attitude towards females (83.9%) as well as a positive attitude towards crime against women (79.1%). However, gender stereotyping (54.6%) and male bias (58.6%)were present in the majority among them. There was a significant correlation between all the scales and gender (p<0.05); with better attitudes among females. Conclusion: Although the overall attitude towards females was better in adolescents, gender bias remains an important problem.

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Prevalence of Self-medication Practices for Oral Health Problems among Dental Patients in a dental college: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Journal of Nepal Medical Association ◽

10.31729/jnma.4866 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 58 (224) ◽

Author(s):

Rosina Bhattarai ◽

Sunita Khanal ◽

Sujita Shrestha

Keyword(s):

Data Entry ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medication Practice ◽

Dental Patients ◽

Institutional Review ◽

Back Translation

Introduction: Self-medication means the use of medications for the treatment of any disease ontheir own, without consulting any healthcare professional. At times self-medication can be usefulif practiced correctly by saving time and money, whereas disadvantages often occur due to lackof evaluation by trained medical professionals and delay ineffective treatment and can result inunnecessary expenses and drug dependence. This study was conducted to find out the self-medicationbehavior and its associated factors among patients visiting a dental hospital in Kathmandu. Methods: A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 patients in Kantipur DentalCollege from December 2019 to January 2020 among the patients attending the dental Out PatientDepartment. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of KantipurDental College. A convenience sampling technique was used. Proformas were prepared in English,translated to Nepali and re-translated to English by the back-translation method. Data entry wasdone in Microsoft Excel and analysis in SPSS 20. Descriptive statistics was done. Results: The prevalence of self-medication practice was found to be 166 (62.6%). Out of totalparticipants, 99 (59.6%) consumed medicines for few days only and the most common triggeringfactor was found to be toothache in 101 (60.8%) participants. The most common reason for selfmedication was found to be a previous experience of treating similar illnesses. Conclusions: The prevalence of self-medication was found to be low as compared to the study donein similar settings. Self-medication practice is a sensitive issue that hasn’t been given the requiredconsideration.

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Missed antenatal care follow-up and associated factors in Eastern Zone of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

African Health Sciences ◽

10.4314/ahs.v20i2.20 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 690-696

Author(s):

Amlaku Mulat ◽

Simachew Kassa ◽

Getahun Belay ◽

Solomon Emishaw ◽

Abere Yekoye ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antenatal Care ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Data Entry ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Northern Ethiopia ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Tigray Region ◽

Eastern Zone ◽

Care Appointment

Introduction: Focused antenatal care improves the survival and health of the mother as well as the babies. However, there are real challenges in keeping the subsequent antenatal care follow up in Ethiopia. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess missed antenatal care follow up and associated factors in the Eastern zone of Tigray. Methods: Hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among systematically selected 548 women who came for de- livery services from March to April 2016. The data were collected using pre-tested and structured questionnaire through face to face exit interview. Data entry and analysis were made using EPI info version 7 software and SPSS version 20 respectively. Both binary and multiple logistic regression was performed. Results: This study revealed that 33.4% of participants were missing their Antenatal care follow-up. Having no formal ed- ucation [AOR=1.778 (1.102, 2.869)], attending primary education [AOR= 1.756 (1.040, 2.964)], self-employee [AOR=1.589 (1.030, 2.452)], government employee [AOR=0.503 (0.503, 0.953)], being unmarried [AOR=2.36 (1.11, 5.04)], didn’t in- formed about institutional delivery [AOR=3.34 (1.44, 7.78)], and travel distance more than two hours to hospital [AOR=1.93 (1.08, 3.44)] were factors significantly associated with missed Antenatal care follow-up. Conclusion: The proportion of missed antenatal care follow-up was lessened as compared to local and national evidences. Nevertheless, still a coordinated effort on tracking of pregnant women who missed their antenatal care appointment is re- quired by health policy implementers so as to increase the uptake of four complete visits. Keywords: Antenatal care follow-up; missed antenatal care; Tigray region; Ethiopia.

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Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding blood donation among medical students of Tamil Nadu- a cross sectional study

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20194532 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (10) ◽

pp. 4583

Author(s):

Venkatesh Govindasamy ◽

Devendiran Sivasankaran ◽

Vaithiyanathan Purushothaman

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Blood Donation ◽

Data Entry ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adequate Knowledge ◽

Donated Blood

Background: Blood can save millions of life. Blood transfusion is one of the most crucial interventions in conditions like trauma, childbirth, and various other medical and surgical life-saving procedures. In spite of extensive efforts and a number of blood donation programs being organized worldwide, the availability of blood remains too short to meet the demand. Students of health education form a potential source of eligible regular voluntary donors and also play a cruel role in motivating potential donors from the general population.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among the medical students and interns of Government Thiruvannamalai Medical College in July 2018. Universal sampling was done for this study. A pretested structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS software version 21.Results: Out of 460 students, 53.3% have adequate knowledge about blood donation. 57.8% of students have positive attitude towards blood donation. Only 31.4% of them have donated blood before and anaemia was found to be the main reason among non-donors for not having donated blood.Conclusions: More than half of the students have adequate knowledge and positive attitude towards blood donation. Less than one-third have donated blood. It is recommended that there is a need to adopt strategies to sensitize and motivate them towards voluntary blood donation early in their medical career.

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