Household disposal of medicines and perception of damage to the environment by the frutal population, Brazil

The increase in the production and consumption of medicines associated with their incorrect disposal can compromise human and environmental health. Objective: To evaluate household disposal of medicines and perception of damage to the environment by the population of Frutal - MG, Brazil. Methodology: A questionnaire was prepared and made available via Google Forms (free platform) with multiple choice questions about the age group, sex, income, education, disposal and domestic storage of medicines, information received in pharmacies about the disposal of these products and the perception of damage to the environment (soil, water, air and health of the population). The study allowed reaching an inference of 3.20% of confidence and 99% of reliability, within the collected sample. Results: The questionnaire was answered by 1,561 people in the municipality. The age group that prevailed was between 18 and 29 years old (32.9%). It was observed that 70.5% of the answers were female, income 1 to 2 wages (27.3%) and the majority with higher education (27.8%). The main forms of medication disposal that are left over after some treatment include common garbage (20.8%), toilets (4.5%) and sinks (3.7%). Survey participants show their perception of damage to the environment, as they believe that the incorrect disposal of medicines can contaminate the soil (62.7%) and water (62.3%). Only 1.7% believes that contamination does not occur.Conclusion: The population has demonstrated understanding of the damage caused to the environment in relation to incorrect disposal, but an intervention is necessary mainly on how to properly dispose of it.