PROPER DISPOSAL OF MEDICINES: AN INTEGRATED HEALTH EDUCATION STRATEGY FOR THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY

Abstract

The pharmacist is responsible for guiding the community on the rational use of drugs through pharmaceutical care. The practice of self-medication is  related to the home stock of medicines, which favors the problem of  incorrect disposal. When expired or not in use, medicines are discarded, in  most cases, in inappropriate places, affecting the environment. The work  aimed to develop a strategy for the conscious disposal of medicines during  the scientific week at a private college in Natal/RN and evaluate the discarded drugs’ profile through a quantitative, observational, and  descriptive study. The collection of drugs occurred in June 2019, during the  scientific week. Then, the collected drugs were counted, separating them by  pharmaceutical form, and then the number of generic drugs was verified. A  total of 303 expired or discontinued drugs were collected, 220 in solid  pharmaceutical form, 66 liquids, and 17 semisolids. Of the total collected,  only 51 were generic. The establishment of strategies that facilitate the  rational disposal of medications in the academic field provides an alternative  to reduce the accumulation of expired or out-of-use medications at home and prevent them from being discarded in inappropriate places.