Ahmed Abdo-Rabbo, Manal Al- Ansari, Brian Gunn, Batool
Suleiman & Hawraa Al-Lawati
Directorate of Rational Use of Medicine
Ministry of Health, Sultanate of Oman
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Irrational use & storage of medicines in the community:
 Problem faced worldwide
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Often forgotten & the most neglected target
Leads to medicine wastages & health risks
Needs much attention from all
At public health facilities in Oman:

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High availability & accessibility of medicines
Prescriptions dispensed free of charge
It is the first household survey on medicine use in Oman
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To investigate the chronic diseases of households
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To identify the type & use of traditional remedy used by households
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To know the available medicines at homes & their uses
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To know the channels of treatment & obtaining medicines
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To investigate the storage of medicines at homes
•
To determine the left-over & expired medicines
•
To evaluate the adequacy of labelling & patients ’ knowledge of correct dosage
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A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2009
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Ethical clearance & authority permission were obtained
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A written pre-tested interview questionnaire was used along with direct observation
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The questionnaire covered the following aspects:
 Characters & chronic diseases of households
 Traditional remedy & modern medicines available
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& used in households
Channels of treatment & obtaining medicines
Storage conditions, left-over & expired medicines
Adequacy of labelling & patients ’ knowledge of correct dosage
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2 districts
4 villages
2 urban (150) 
Stratified sampling via aggregates
● 1050 households were interviewed
 from 12 villages
 in 6 willayat (districts)
 located in 4 regions
2 rural (150)
2 districts
(11 health regions in Oman)

Inventory of the found medicines &
4 villages
2 urban (200)
2 rural (150) answers were recorded & coded individually

Data were processed & analyzed by SPSS / Excel

The overall results reported as mean % or number
1 district
2 villages
1 urban (100)
1 rural (100)
1 district
2 villages
1 urban (100)
1 rural (100) 5

1. Characters & chronic diseases of households
Parameter
Omani families in the survey
Parents in households with basic education
Households represented urban community
Households with chronic diseases
Households with hypertension
Households with diabetes mellitus
%
98.00
50.19
52.34
44.39
36.78
31.54
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2. Traditional remedy used by the households
52,80%
49,78%
34,40%
14,08%
Traditional remedy Herbal medicines Burn (kei)
1,31%
Cupping (Hejameh) Acupuncture
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3. Medicines in the households
% of families who had medicines at homes
Average # of medicines found / household
Maximum # of medicines found in a household
% of households with antibiotics
% of antibiotics from all medicines at homes
Maximum # of antibiotics found in a household
% of penicillins from all antibiotics at homes
95%
6
45
45.83%
12.55
10
51.66%
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4. Most therapeutic classes of medicines in homes
24.91%
14.6%
13.72%
12.05%
8.26%
Musculoskeletal/joint medicines
Respiratory medicines Anti-infective medicines
Cardio-vascular medicines
Gastro-intestinal medicines
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5. Channels of treatment & obtaining medicines
Medicines prescribed by physician
Medicines obtained from public pharmacy
Medicines obtained from private pharmacy
86.06%
70.32%
21.11%
6. Adequacy of labelling & patients ’ knowledge of correct dosage
Percentage of medicines adequately labelled
Percent correct patient’s knowledge of dosage
7.95%
65.86%
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9. Storage places of medicines at homes
30.65%
23.25%
17.54%
12.52%
11.94%
Refrigerator Cupboard Bedroom Shelf Drawer
2.94% box
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10. Left-over & expired medicines at homes
Households keep left-over medicines
Households throw out left-over medicines
Households return medicines to pharmacy
Medicines at homes which were not in use
Respondents who do not check expiry date
Respondents who always check expiry date
Medicines in the households with expiry date
Medicines in the households already expired
61.31%
33.27%
4.86%
31.64%
15.51%
67.26%
97.64%
12.41%
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Medicine use problems in households
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Unsafe use of traditional remedy
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Polypharmacy & therapeutic duplication
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Overuse / misuse of antibiotics
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Informal sources of treatment and channels of obtaining medication
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Self-medication with prescription medicines
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Medicine use problems in households (cont.)
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Inappropriate storage of medicines
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Abundance of unused, deteriorated or expired medicines
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Inadequate labeling
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Poor knowledge of correct dosage
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Lack of patient ’ s adherence to treatment
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Medicine use assessment & a comprehensive evaluation are needed
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Realistic policies should be implemented
& enforced
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Health providers & public education to increase their sensitization & awareness
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