Effectiveness of a Pharmacist-Led Educational Intervention on Safe Disposal of Unused and Expired Medications in Klang Valley, Malaysia: A Pre-Post Interventional Study

Pharmacy Practice

  • Tan Chun Hong1PG Student (Master in Pharmacy Practice), Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, IMU University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Palanisamy Sivanandy2Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, IMU University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Pravinkumar Vishwanath Ingle2Senior Lecturer, Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, IMU University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Volume 24 Issue 1 Pages 1-9

DOI: 10.18549/PharmPract.2026.1.3407

Abstract

Background: The consequences of unused and expired medications encompass environmental contamination, increased global warming risks, wastage of public resources, and unintentional poisoning resulting from accidental ingestion. Methods: An interventional research study was carried out for a duration of eleven months. The respondents participated in this study via invitation from email, WhatsApp messages, and other social media platforms. All respondents had answered a pre-intervention questionnaire prior to the educational intervention, followed by seven days of educational intervention, as well as a final data collection on the seventh day. Results: The study successfully obtained 397 responses in pre-intervention, and 353 responses in post-intervention, thereby achieving a response rate of 89%. The knowledge score of the respondents had enhanced to a sufficient level from 44.4% to 91.2% upon completion of the educational intervention. Vitamins (Npre=194, 48.9%; Npost=222, 62.9%), and cough preparation (Npre=193, 48.6%; Npost=219, 62.0%) were the two most widely existing unused and/or expired medications in pre-and post-intervention. An excessive number of medications (Npre=230, 57.9%; Npost=215, 60.9%), and improvement in the illness condition (Npre=158, 39.8%; Npost=261, 73.9%) were known as the two most common reasons for having unused and/or expired medications in pre-and post- intervention. Approximately 90% of the respondents (n=317) would participate in the “Return Your Medicines Program” in managing unused and/or expired medications after receiving the educational intervention. Conclusion: The educational intervention demonstrated a positive impact in enhancing the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the safe disposal of unused and expired medications.

Pharmacy Practice

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