Qatar University (QU)'s College of Pharmacy (CPH) hosted the first virtual outreach campaign to raise awareness of proper disposal of unused medications at home
The campaign, titled 'Dispose Your Unused Home Medications Correctly: Safe Use, Safe Disposal, included a webinar, daily social media messages on how to dispose of medicines correctly and a promotional video highlighting the harms and risks of unsafe disposal of medicines and how to dispose of unused medicines safely over a one-week period.
The guest speaker of the event was Dr Mutaseim Makki, scientific researcher at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Panelists of the webinar included QU Health director of academic quality assurance Dr Derek Stewart, QU-CPH professor Dr Hesham Korashy and QU-CPH assistant professor Dr Zachariah Nazar.
The webinar aimed to educate the public on the health, economic and environmental impact of improperly disposing unused medication at home and ways to minimise medication. The webinar was followed by a discussion that covered many aspects, including the proper ways of disposing of different medication dosage forms at home, role of healthcare providers in minimising the risk of improper medication disposal, local and international rules and regulations regarding proper medications disposal, and the roles governments, health, and academic institutions could play in ensuring sustainable wider public awareness related to medication wastage and unused medications
Dr Mohamed Diab, dean of QU-CPH, said: “While this time is very challenging and with all the safety measures we are abiding by, and believing in the importance of reaching the public and educating them to take the right action, the College of Pharmacy succeeded in conducting its first virtual outreach campaign.”
“This campaign aims at educating the public on how to properly dispose their unused home medication through a number of videos on social media platforms and a webinar. We are very proud of the college’s achievements and of its efforts to advance healthcare in Qatar and the world through excellence and innovation in pharmacy education, research and service,” he added.
Prof Derek noted, “The accumulation of unused and unwanted medicines at home poses a serious potential risk to patients, family members and pets. It is important that we follow the recommendations and do not accumulate unnecessary medicines, nor share our medicines with others and that we dispose of them in the proper way.”
“Inappropriate disposal of medications can have serious repercussions, both on the environment and public health. This campaign is essential in delivering key messages regarding good and safe practices in requesting, using and disposing of medicines,” added Dr Nazar.