BURDEN OF LEFTOVER MEDICATION AT HOME AND ITS CONTRIBUTING FACTORS IN GOBA TOWN, BALE ZONE, ETHIOPIA

Background: Essential medicines save lives, reduce suffering and improve health. However keeping unwanted or expired medications in house potentially exposes the family to risks. Patients may not use all the medications dispensed to them because of many reasons. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the burden of leftover medication and its contributing factors in Goba town, Bale zone, Ethiopia, 2016. Methods: Cross sectional study design was conducted from 10th to 20th April 2016 in Goba Town. The sample size was 315 and the response rate was 95.6%. Descriptive statistics and binary and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to describe the study participants in relation to variables and to determine associated variables with the outcome. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was used to measure strength and significance of association. Results: Of the households visited, 82 (27.2%) had stored leftover drugs. Altogether, there were 92 leftover preparations. The average household possessed 1.12 products and the range was 1-3 per household. Housewives were 4.18 (95% CI: 1.96, 8.87) times more likely to report presence of leftover medicines than those who had other occupation; families with health professional(s) as family member were 2.8 (95% CI: 1.11, 5.71) times more likely to have leftover medicine than families with no health professional(s). Conclusion: The prevalence of leftover medicine at home in Goba town was 27.2%. Housewives with no formal job and the presence of health professional(s) in family were found to be associated with drug storage at home.