STUDY OF THE RESIDENTIAL DISPOSAL OF EXPIRED MEDICINES BY AN ACADEMIC COMMUNITY IN THE FAR SOUTH OF BAHIA

Abstract

With the advancement of technology, new medicines have been developed in large quantities, being essential to support the population in the fight against diseases, promoting health, curing and preventing illnesses. However, most home medicines are discarded incorrectly, generating contamination to the environment and consequently affecting animals and human beings. In this perspective, this research had the following guiding question: How has the residential disposal of expired or unused medicines been occurring by higher education students of the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences - FACISA? In view of this, the study had as its general objective to investigate how expired home medicines are discarded by students. The specific objectives were: to outline the sociodemographic profile of students; to verify disposal practices, their importance and level of knowledge on this subject, as well as perceptions and satisfaction with local public policies for medicine disposal. This study is characterized as a basic case study, with a quantitative-qualitative approach and explanatory objectives, which was carried out through the application of an online questionnaire to the sample group. The results showed that the students are residents of Itamaraju, Prado, Guaratinga and Itabela, neighboring cities in the extreme south of Bahia. More than 84% of the students claim to have no in-depth knowledge of the method recommended by health and environmental agencies for disposing of medications, despite considering that proper management is very important or important. In addition, the vast majority dispose of medications in an environmentally inappropriate manner, in regular trash, with the main reasons for this being the lack of knowledge and guidance from professionals, as well as the low availability of collection points for these supplies in their cities. This scenario reveals the need for better education of the community and the implementation of government guidelines to prevent the adverse effects of improper disposal.