Medications stored at home by patients cared for by Family Health Strategy professionals

• Autor(a) principal: Loch, Ana Paula
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Damo, Nevoni Goretti, de Santa Helena, Ernani Tiaraju, Missugiro, Edson Machado Sirai
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Medicina de Família e Comunidade (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://www.rbmfc.org.br/rbmfc/article/view/1090
• topic: Drug Storage; Medications; Drug Utilization; Self Care; Pharmaceutical Care; Almacenamiento de Medicamentos; Medicamentos; Utilización de Medicamentos; Autocuidado; Atención Farmacéutica; Armazenamento de Medicamentos; Medicamentos; Uso de Medicamentos; Autocuidado; Atenção Farmacêutica; Uso de Medicamentos

Many families commonly store medications at home, a practice that may pose a health risk to these individuals. A cross-sectional study of 100 households in an area covered under the Family Health Strategy (FHS) was conducted in Blumenau, SC, between February and March 2012. Among the households visited, 91% had stored drugs; 737 different medications were found (with a mean of 7.6 medications per household). The most commonly stored drugs were the ones that act on the digestive system (148 drugs, or 20.1%), and the most commonly found medication was paracetamol (48.7%). Among the respondents, 29 (31.9%) reported often having disposed of medications in the trash; 12 (13.2%) did not particularly note the drug’s appearance before ingesting it; and 74 (81.3%) had access to drugs in publicly funded (community) pharmacies and primary healthcare centers. The number of drugs was associated with the number of people in the household (p < 0.01) and the presence of chronic diseases (p < 0.05). People with higher levels of education stored more drugs (p < 0.001). However, people with lower levels of education used more drugs prescribed by doctors (p < 0.001).