Background: Disposal of medicine is regulated by the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965. Despite regulatory provisions concerning the appropriate disposal of medication, the presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment is a growing global concern. Although studies conducted in South Africa have shown poor knowledge and practices concerning medicine disposal, no studies have explored the attitudes and the influence of various sociodemographic variables. Objective(s): The objectives of this study were to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding unused medicines among the residents of Bloemfontein and to identify the sociodemographic-based associations and predictors between knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Methods: This was a descriptive, quantitative, and cross-sectional study involving 394 Bloemfontein residents. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to participants aged 18 years and older. Mann–Whitney U tests and Kruskal–Wallis H tests were used to identify significant differences between each sociodemographic variable and the knowledge, attitudes, and practices among residents. Multiple linear regression was used to identify sociodemographic determinants. The Spearman correlation test was employed to determine correlations between knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Results: This study found that gender, employment status, users of the private health-care system, and health-care workers significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected residents’ knowledge scores. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that gender (β = 0.25, R2 = 0.01), employment status (β = 0.48, R2 = 0.04), usage of certain types of health-care systems (β = 0.16, R2 = 0.04), and health-care worker status (β = −0.89, R2 = 0.02) were significantly associated (p ≤ 0.05) with a higher knowledge score. Education, employment status, and being a health-care worker significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected residents’ attitude scores. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that being a health-care worker (β = −0.01, R2 = 0.01) was significantly associated (p ≤ 0.05) with a higher knowledge score. Gender (β = 0.15, R2 = 0.02), level of education (β = 0.09, R2 = 0.01), and being a health-care worker (β = −0.47, R2 = 0.05) were significant predictors (p ≤ 0.05) of residents’ medicine disposal practices. The Spearman correlation test revealed that there is a positive relationship (r = 0.14, n = 394, p < 0.05) between residents’ knowledge and a positive attitude toward the appropriate disposal of unused and expired medicines. Conclusions: This study identified significant differences in the knowledge, attitudes, and practices across sociodemographic variables among residents. Health-care workers distinguished themselves above non-health-care workers in all factors.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, C.C., R.V. and J.N.; methodology, C.C., R.V. and J.N.; validation, C.C., R.V. and J.N.; formal analysis, R.V. and J.N.; investigation, C.C., R.V. and J.N.; resources, C.C., R.V. and J.N.; data curation, R.V. and J.N.; writing—original draft preparation, C.C., R.V. and J.N.; writing—review and editing, C.C., R.V. and J.N.; project administration, R.V. and J.N. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved on 18 March 20245 by the Turfloop Research Ethics Committee of the University of Limpopo (TREC/1775/2023: PG) for studies involving humans.
Informed Consent Statement
Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement
The authors will provide datasets generated and analyzed during the current study upon request.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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