Pharmaceuticals in Burlington, Vermont: Usage and Disposal …ecolab/files/REU2015/Jones -...
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Pharmaceuticals in Burlington, Vermont: Usage and Disposal Practices Lexi Jones 1 , Christine Vatovec 2, Clare Ginger 2, Wesleyan University 1 , University of Vermont 2 Background Objectives • Determine how residents of Burlington, VT use and dispose of their pharmaceuticals. • Develop strategies to reduce the levels of pharmaceuticals entering Lake Champlain Methods Responses • Total Number of Responses: 139 households • Complete Responses: 95 households • Responses analyzed: 90 households • Approximate number of people captured in the survey: 190 people Results The Next Steps Drug Take-Back Programs 78% 22% Yes No 22% 78% Yes No Over-the-Counter Medications Prescription Medications Has your household purchased any medications in the past year? Yes 97% 84% On average, how often do the people in your household take medication? Daily 34% 78% Weekly 26% 2% Monthly 23% 6% A few times a year 19% 8% Never 0% 3% Did your household use all of the medications that you purchased in the past year? Yes 7% 26% No - still using it 57% 34% No - some leftover 31% 29% If there was some leftover, what did you do with it? (Check all that apply) I still have it 69% 59% I gave it to a friend or family member 8% 0% I threw it away 22% 31% Other 0% 10% If you threw medication away in the past 12 months, how did you dispose of it? Flushed down the drain 1% 2% Threw in garbage 41% 21% Took to National Take-Back Day 11% 11% Took to a Local Police Station 3% 0% I didn't throw out any medication 43% 44% When you get a prescription from your physician, do they typically tell you how to dispose of any leftover medication? Never 88% When you buy a prescription drug at the pharmacy, does the pharmacist typically tell you how to dispose of any leftover medication? Never 88% Figure 3: Proportion of people who have heard of drug take back programs (yes) versus those who have not (no) Figure 4: Proportion of people who have taken their unused medication to take back days (yes) versus those who have not (no) Conclusions • Majority of households use pharmaceuticals on a regular basis • Many households have leftover pharmaceuticals • Most participants with leftover drugs held onto them. Those who did dispose of drugs did so through municipal trash • Health professionals rarely give information on drug disposal • Many participants reported looking up information on drug disposal, primarily online or by asking their pharmacist • Although many participants were aware of drug take-back programs, few took advantage of them Sources of Error: • Convenience sampling: sample is not representative; those with an interest in the environment likely responded at a higher rate • Sample size: small, more data are needed • Educate health care professionals on proper drug disposal • Encourage health care professionals to distribute disposal instructions with prescription & over-the-counter medications • Ensure online drug disposal information is clear & uniform across websites • Determine how to make drug disposal programs more appealing to the public • Determine how to decrease pharmaceutical usage in general • Surveyed households in Burlington about pharmaceutical use & disposal, July 8 – 27, 2015 • Survey administered online via local forums, social media, listservs & newsletters • Pharmaceuticals & personal care products (PPCPs): “product(s) used by individuals for personal health or cosmetic reasons” (EPA) • Over 70% of Americans take at least 1 prescription drug, 50% take at least 2 prescription drugs, and over 20% take more than 5 prescription drugs each year (Zhong et al., 2013) • PPCPs are present in surface waters across the globe (Flaherty et al., 2004) • 57 PPCPs have been found in the effluent entering Lake Champlain (Vatovec et al., 2015) • Information about people’s attitudes, usage & disposal practices can inform interventions to reduce levels of PPCPs entering Lake Champlain Vatovec et al., 2015. “Pharmaceuticals in Lake Champlain: Investigating Levels, Sources, and Points of Intervention” Flaherty et al., 2005. “Effects of pharmaceuticals on Daphnia survival, growth, and reproduction.” “Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products,” Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/ppcp/ Zhong et al. ”Age and Sex Patterns of Drug Prescribing in a Defined American Population” 47% 53% Yes No Figure 1: Proportion of respondents who have looked up drug disposal information Figure 2: Where respondents looked for drug disposal information Acknowledgements Thanks to Jason Stockwell, Michael McDonald, Jessica Kane, and the 2015 REU mentors and cohort. Support for this award was provided by the National Science Foundation (Award DBI- 1358838) References Table 2: Drug disposal instructions Table 1: Pharmaceutical usage and disposal practices of Burlington residents 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Number of Participants
Transcript of Pharmaceuticals in Burlington, Vermont: Usage and Disposal …ecolab/files/REU2015/Jones -...
Pharmaceuticals in Burlington, Vermont: Usage and Disposal PracticesLexi Jones1, Christine Vatovec2, Clare Ginger2,
Wesleyan University1, University of Vermont2
Background
Objectives• Determine how residents of Burlington, VT use and dispose of
their pharmaceuticals.
• Develop strategies to reduce the levels of pharmaceuticals entering Lake Champlain
Methods
Responses• Total Number of Responses: 139 households
• Complete Responses: 95 households
• Responses analyzed: 90 households
• Approximate number of people captured in the survey: 190 people
Results
The Next Steps
Drug Take-Back Programs
78%
22%
Yes
No
22%
78%
Yes
NoOver-the-Counter
Medications Prescription Medications
Has your household purchased any medications in the past year?
Yes 97% 84%
On average, how often do the people in your household take medication?
Daily 34% 78%Weekly 26% 2%
Monthly 23% 6%A few times a year 19% 8%
Never 0% 3%
Did your household use all of the medications that you purchased in the past year?
Yes 7% 26%No - still using it 57% 34%
No - some leftover 31% 29%
If there was some leftover, what did you do with it? (Check all that apply)
I still have it 69% 59%I gave it to a friend or family
member 8% 0%I threw it away 22% 31%
Other 0% 10%
If you threw medication away in the past 12 months, how did you dispose of it?
Flushed down the drain 1% 2%Threw in garbage 41% 21%
Took to National Take-Back Day 11% 11%Took to a Local Police Station 3% 0%
I didn't throw out any medication 43% 44%
When you get a prescription from your physician, do they typically tell you how to dispose of any leftover medication?
Never 88%
When you buy a prescription drug at the pharmacy, does the pharmacist typically tell you how to dispose of any leftover medication?
Never 88%
Figure 3: Proportion of people who have heard of drug take back programs (yes) versus those who have not (no)
Figure 4: Proportion of people who have taken their unused medication to take back days (yes) versus those who have not (no)
Conclusions• Majority of households use pharmaceuticals on a regular basis
• Many households have leftover pharmaceuticals
• Most participants with leftover drugs held onto them. Those who did dispose of drugs did so through municipal trash
• Health professionals rarely give information on drug disposal
• Many participants reported looking up information on drug disposal, primarily online or by asking their pharmacist
• Although many participants were aware of drug take-back programs, few took advantage of them
Sources of Error:
• Convenience sampling: sample is not representative; those with an interest in the environment likely responded at a higher rate
• Sample size: small, more data are needed
• Educate health care professionals on proper drug disposal
• Encourage health care professionals to distribute disposal instructions with prescription & over-the-counter medications
• Ensure online drug disposal information is clear & uniform across websites
• Determine how to make drug disposal programs more appealing to the public
• Determine how to decrease pharmaceutical usage in general
• Surveyed households in Burlington about pharmaceutical use & disposal, July 8 – 27, 2015
• Survey administered online via local forums, social media,listservs & newsletters
• Pharmaceuticals & personal care products (PPCPs): “product(s) used by individuals for personal health or cosmetic reasons” (EPA)
• Over 70% of Americans take at least 1 prescription drug, 50% take at least 2 prescription drugs, and over 20% take more than 5 prescription drugs each year (Zhong et al., 2013)
• PPCPs are present in surface waters across the globe (Flaherty et al., 2004)
• 57 PPCPs have been found in the effluent entering Lake Champlain (Vatovec et al., 2015)
• Information about people’s attitudes, usage & disposal practices can inform interventions to reduce levels of PPCPs entering Lake Champlain
Vatovec et al., 2015. “Pharmaceuticals in Lake Champlain: Investigating Levels, Sources, and Points of
Intervention”
Flaherty et al., 2005. “Effects of pharmaceuticals on Daphnia survival, growth, and reproduction.”
“Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products,” Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.epa.gov/ppcp/
Zhong et al. ”Age and Sex Patterns of Drug Prescribing in a Defined American Population”
47%
53%Yes
No
Figure 1: Proportion of respondents who have looked up drug disposal information
Figure 2: Where respondents looked for drug disposal information
AcknowledgementsThanks to Jason Stockwell, Michael McDonald, Jessica Kane, and the 2015 REU mentors and cohort. Support for this award was provided by the National Science Foundation (Award DBI- 1358838)
References
Table 2: Drug disposal instructions
Table 1: Pharmaceutical usage and disposal practices of Burlington residents
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