Knowledge and attitude of the people in San Juan de Miraflores towards the disposal of medicines

Abstract

Background: Medicines that are expired or deteriorated within a household must be disposed of in an effective and environmentally friendly manner, to the point that they do not end up being a risk to the community and the environment. To do this, the members of Peruvian households must have the knowledge and the appropriate attitude, together with the necessary tools for the effective disposal of these drugs. For this reason, the research objective is as follows: to evaluates the relationship between the level of knowledge and attitudes on how to dispose of medicines in households in the district of San Juan de Miraflores. Methods: Hypothetical-deductive, quantitative approach, applied type and non-experimental, observational design, for which 385 households in the district of San Juan de Miraflores were surveyed. Results: 48.3% of the respondents have an average level of knowledge of how to dispose of medicines. 93.2% of the respondents have a positive attitude towards the disposal of medicines, and there is a relationship between the level of knowledge and attitude towards the disposal of medicines (P-value = 0.000). Conclusions: Increased knowledge is associated with a better attitude to the disposal of medicines.