ReviewExploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy2025
A systematic review of the knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare professionals and healthcare professional students towards household pharmaceutical waste disposal.
Review in Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pharmaceutical Waste Management and Awareness at Household Level: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Katlehong and Lambton in Ekurhuleni Municipality.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Unused and expired medicines waste in Ireland - an audit of medicines returned to and generated in community pharmacies.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding the Disposal of Unused and Expired Medicines in Romania During the Early Implementation of the 2023 Hospital-Based Collection Framework.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The interlinked crisis: pharmaceutical pollution as a driver of antimicrobial resistance in East Africa: an urgent call for ecopharmacovigilance and one health approach.One health outlook · 2026Review
- From Policy to Practice: Community Pharmacists' Self-Reported Counseling Role in Pharmaceutical Waste Management.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Active pharmaceutical residues introduced into the environment through irresponsible household disposal of unused and expired medication can damage nature and health. Through medication take-back programmes, these risks can be mitigated. However, healthcare professionals' neglect of their responsibility to ensure proper disposal practices has perpetuated subpar norms among the public. Objectives: The objectives of this systematic review were to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of household pharmaceutical waste disposal among healthcare professionals and healthcare professional students as well as to compare their respective levels of knowledge, attitude and practice. Methods: A systematic search of published articles from 2014 to 2023 in three online journal databases (Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science) yielded an initial pool of 10,381 records, which was narrowed down by title and abstract screening to 46 relevant publications for full-text examination and the final inclusion of 21 papers for data extraction and synthesis. Results: The findings revealed deficiencies in academic curricula and medication disposal training, leading to inadequate knowledge and perceptions among healthcare professionals. Many healthcare professionals consider public education about safe medication disposal practices to be outside their job descriptions, leading to infrequent communication of medication disposal methods to their consumers and service users. Additionally, inadequate and inaccessible infrastructure further hinders proper medication disposal practices despite awareness of the consequences. Conclusions: This study provides insights for policymakers and educators to address these and enhance healthcare professionals' participation in improving safe medication disposal practices. Efforts to strengthen training programmes, incorporate comprehensive education on medication disposal into curricula, and improve infrastructure for safe medication disposal are essential to effectively address the issue of household pharmaceutical waste disposal.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.