Community-based medication disposal pilot initiative in southwest tribal communities

Misuse and abuse of prescription drugs including opioids has been a driving force behind the drug overdose epidemic plaguing communities across the USA for more than two decades. Medication accumulation in the home environment can contribute to this issue. However, research on proper disposal in rural communities is limited. For this project, an applied public health approach was used to raise awareness and improve prescription drug disposal practices by pilot testing prescription drug disposal systems in participating communities.

A community-based disposal project was facilitated with assistance from community partners. The project centered on distribution of drug deactivation bags in homes and medication drop boxes at multiple healthcare facilities.

The team distributed 215 drug deactivation bags to 162 community households resulting in destruction of 8011 pills, 8 medicated dermal patches and 777 mL of liquid medication. A total of 4684 pounds of medication were collected and disposed of through healthcare facility drop boxes.

The strategies identified are scalable and easy to replicate to meet any community's needs in reducing potential challenges of medication diversion.