EXPLORING AWARENESS AMONG GENERAL PUBLIC TOWARDS ISSUES RELATED TO MEDICATION SAFETY IN QUETTA, PAKISTAN

OBJECTIVES: The study aims to assess general public awareness towards issues related to medication safety in Quetta City, Pakistan. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among general public in Quetta, Pakistan by using a convenient sampling technique. A total of one thousand respondents were approached and 927 consumers participated in the survey giving a response rate of 92.7%. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 18.0 and descriptive statistics were reported where appropriate. RESULTS: Majority of the respondents (n=609, 65.7%) were not aware of possible side effects of their current medications. A total of 144 respondents (15.5%) believed that all medicines registered in Pakistan are safe to use and they do not have any side effects. About 44.4% (n=412) of the respondents claimed that they share their unused medicines with family and friends who are having similar illness. Majority of respondents 87.7% (n=813) were not satisfied with the drug information provided by the health care professionals. The present study also found that more than 80% of the respondents (n=742) did report that they never read the labels of their medication before using. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed poor level of public knowledge regarding medication safety. It is evident that public underestimates the risk of their medications. There is a general lack of awareness and understanding among the public especially towards side effects.