Environmental education for sustainability: An alternative for adequate disposal of medicines at home
Keywords:
environmental education, education for sustainability, disposal of household medicines, medicines in the environmentAbstract
Introduction: The easy access to buy medicines causes accumulation at home and due to lack of use or expiration, these products are disposed of by patients and consumers in an inappropriate way, so they become a type of waste that can represent a risk to the environment and raise public health concerns. Objective: Analyze the causes that promote inadequate disposal of unused and expired medicines at home and the environmental education and investigate the level of knowledge, information, and environmental awareness that the people have about the management of these products. Method: A literature review of household surveys on drug disposition was developed using the Campbell Collaboration's systematic review method. Results: In the 21 selected studies, 81% of patients dispose of medicines inadequately in a garbage bin or toilet and 9.2% return them to specialized waste collection centers. Conclusions: The evidence shows that there is little knowledge about the effects on the environment of these products and that education aimed at sustainability plays a fundamental role in reducing and mitigating the possible environmental impacts that may be generated.
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