Introduction: Medicines play a very significant role in treating many diseases, but it is essential to dispose of them properly at the treatment's end. Therefore, knowledge and awareness of proper drug disposal are necessary for a safe environment; this deficiency can lead to many problems, including environmental pollution and health hazards directly or indirectly. Hence, the study aimed to assess the knowledge, practice, and awareness of disposing of unused/expired drugs among the patient population. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital. The study includes a total of 399 participants. The questionnaire consisted of demographical data and multiple-choice questions associated with knowledge and awareness of drug disposal. The collected data is expressed in percentages. Results: Out of 390 respondents, 49% were males and 51% were females. It was found that the most expected disposal pattern of expired/ unused drugs was through household trash (63%). A total of 300 (77%) were cautious of the consequence of inappropriate disposal. We observed that 20(5%) participants had partial knowledge about proper drug disposal, and 63% (n=245) did not practice safe disposal of the medicines. However, 66%(n=256) of participants sought to implement the National Drug Take Back program. Conclusion: Our study aimed to create an awareness to connect the gaps between knowledge and practice of proper and environmentally safe disposal methods of expired/ unused drugs among the overall population.
Background and Objectives:
Under-reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is a major concern of the pharmacovigilance program of India and has deteriorated further with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Imparting the knowledge of pharmacovigilance among nursing students would significantly enhance patient care. Hence, this study was framed to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention on awareness and attitude of ADR reporting among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods:
A quasi-experimental pretest-post-test study was conducted among nursing students of a tertiary care hospital in South India. The students were asked to fill out a validated questionnaire to assess Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on ADR reporting, before and after the educational intervention. Knowledge and attitude results were analysed using Mc Nemar’s test.
Results:
A total of 135 nursing students attended the educational intervention and completed pretest and post-test questionnaires. Around 130 (96.3%) and 107 (79.3%) students were aware of pharmacovigilance and ADR monitoring center following the intervention. Median (interquartile range) of knowledge scores before and after the intervention were 3 (2-3) and 5 (3-7), respectively. Overall knowledge score of ADR reporting significantly improved after the intervention. Sixty two (45.9%) students agreed that ADR reporting would enhance patient safety. ADR reporting was practised by 52 (38.5%) participants. Nearly, 107 (79.3%) students were interested to participate in similar pharmacovigilance training programs.
Conclusion:
Educational intervention in pharmacovigilance improved the cognitive and affective domains of pharmacovigilance in nursing students. Periodic training programs are essential for sustained behavioural change in students.
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