Prevalence and determinants of household medicine storage in Vietnam: A community-based cross-sectional study

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted individual health, potentially increasing the demand for home medicine storage. However, inappropriate household medicine storage can lead to drug waste and unnecessary hazards. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of and identify the factors that predict medicine storage in Vietnamese households.

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 800 households in Danang, Vietnam. A multi-stage sampling method was applied in this study. The data collection tool was modified from previous studies and consisted of three sections: household head characteristics, household characteristics, and medicine storage practice. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify the factors influencing medicine storage at a p-value of less than 0.05.

Among 800 households surveyed, 71.6% stored medicine. Analgesics-antipyretics were the most common type of medicine stored (80.8%). 90.1% of households obtained their medicines from private pharmacies, 68.1% of households stored medicine for future use and 58.8% had a home medicine cabinet. 9.4% of households did not store medicine in the appropriate packaging and 19.4% of households did not check the expiry date of their medicine. Educational level (AOR = 2.74; 95% CI = 1.84-4.06), income (AOR = 11.38; 95% CI = 1.46-88.79), presence of chronic illnesses (AOR = 12.44; 95% CI = 7.20-21.21), presence of children (AOR = 2.36; 95% CI = 1.56-3.58), presence of healthcare professionals (AOR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.28-3.56) were predictors of the medicine storage.

The current study found a high prevalence of household medication storage and some inappropriate storage behaviors. Therefore, attention should be given to develop effective interventions and policies to promote safe and appropriate storage practices.