ArticlePeerJ2025
A cross-sectional study on perceptions towards safe disposal of unused/expired medicines and its associated factors among the public in Saudi Arabia-a threat to the environment and health.
Article in PeerJ, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of the Mexican Population Regarding the Disposal of Medications: A Cross-Sectional Study.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Public knowledge and practices toward safe disposal of unused and expired medications in Palestine: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Economic burden and patient-related determinants of medication waste in Saudi Arabia: evaluating re-dispensing initiatives for resource optimization.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Household Knowledge of Clinical Risks, Storage, and Disposal of Leftover Antibiotics: A Multinational Study in Seven Developing Countries.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Background: The unsafe disposal of pharmaceutical waste poses significant health hazards and causes environmental pollution on a global scale. The lack of specifically authorized guidelines in Saudi Arabia for the disposal of unused medicines available at home creates an undue economic burden and potentially threatens the environment and healthcare. Aim: The current study aimed to determine the presence, disposal practices, and perceptions of unused or expired household medicines. Furthermore, it identifies the association between demographic characteristics and the presence, disposal practices, and perceptions of the safe disposal of unused/expired medicines. The study also intended to obtain opinions on methods to control the hazardous effects of waste medicines and promote awareness among the public about the safe disposal of unused/expired medicines. Methods: This study is a web-based, cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey conducted in Saudi Arabia. The authors of the current study developed a questionnaire based on relevant literature. The study questionnaire comprises various domains such as demographic characteristics, presence and disposal of unused/expired medicines, perception of safe disposal of unused/expired medicines, and recommended improvement plan for safe disposal of used/expired medicines. Estimating internal consistency, expert review, and retranslation methods ensured reliability, face validity, and language validation. The results are expressed as frequency and percentages for categorical data. In addition, a chi-square test was also performed to find the association between the independent variables and the survey responses. Results: Among the total population, 643 reported having unused/expired medicines at home, with antibiotics being the most common (79.4%). Symptom improvement is associated with accumulating unused medicines at home (71.7%). Age group, educational level, and occupational status were the predictors of the prevalence of waste medicines available at home ( Conclusion: Our study reveals a positive perception of the safe disposal of used or expired medicines, but practice requires improvement. The initiatives to improve the safe disposal practice should be tailored based on gender, educational level, and occupational status. Patient education during medicine dispensing could be an appropriate intervention and can be done by the pharmacist. Introducing medicine waste collection programs or safe medicine disposal guidelines for the public in Saudi Arabia could effectively prevent potential environmental and health hazards.
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