Pharmaceutical Waste Management Practices And Challenges In Pharmaceutical Fund And Supply Agency: The Case Of Central And Regional Main Stores In Ethiopia
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Date
2018-10-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Pharmaceutical waste includes expired, unused, contaminated pharmaceutical products, drugs, vaccines, and sera that are no longer required and need to be disposed of appropriately. In proper disposal of medication waste leads to serious personal and environmental health hazards. There were no established medication waste management programs in most of the developing countries including Africa and Asia. Presence of unique socioeconomic problems in these countries makes the establishment of successful medication waste management program a very challenge. The aim of this study is to assess the pharmaceutical waste management practice and challenges at the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Fund and Supply Agency. This study is conducted by employing Quantitative (questionnaires and direct observation with check list) and qualitative (structured interview) research approaches. Direct observation and physical verification are carried out, using validated world health organization checklist for segregation, collection, storage and disposal of pharmaceutical waste. The existing waste management policy with respect to collection, storage, transportation, information regarding staff strength, services available, quantities and waste type produced and profile of waste handlers and final disposal is evaluated in structured interviews till the point of saturation. Based on the findings and identified challenges, the study put recommendations on what should be done and improved by all responsible bodies for safe disposal of pharmaceutical wastes. The quantitative data generated is analyzed using appropriate computer software. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, averages and percentages) is run to explore the data. The qualitative data is transformed into categories related to the topics that is discussed and coded on paper individually in order to identify themes and patterns for thematic analysis.
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Keywords
Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical waste, Pharmaceutical