Awareness of Community Disposal Programs and Disposal of Unused Prescription Drugs By Parents of Adolescents

Introduction: Adolescents have the second highest rate of current nonmedical prescription drug use (NMPDU). The majority of adolescents who report NMPDU obtained them from friends or family for free suggesting that personal medicine cabinets may a source of NMPDs, knowingly or unknowingly to the prescription-holder. Prescription drug disposal programs (i.e., take-back events or permanent disposal sites) are primary prevention strategies intended to prevent initiation of NMPDU among adolescents by reducing the availability of prescription drugs in the home. While several studies have examined self-reported disposal of unused prescription drugs, none have specifically examined disposal of unused medications by parents of adolescents. The objective of this study was to examine how disapproval of NMPDU, perceived harms associated with NMPDU, perceived NMPDU by their child’s peers, and awareness of community disposal programs was related to disposal of unused prescription drugs by parents in counties that had implemented disposal programs.

Methods: Ten counties in south central Kentucky participated in the study. Bi-annual take-back events and permanent disposal sites had been implemented in all counties. In the fall of 2017, parents of youth attending 38 elementary, 12 middle, and 10 high schools were invited to participate in an anonymous, take-home survey. A total of 10,319 parents completed the survey. Logistic regression was conducted to identify correlates of prescription drug disposal. Analyses were restricted to parents who reported that a member of the household had been prescribed a controlled medication (e.g., OxyContin, Valium, Adderall) within the past 12 months.

Results: There were 3,432 (33.3%) parents whose household had been prescribed a controlled medication within the past 12 months. Of those, 1,774 (51.7%) reported disposing unused prescription drugs over the same time period. The majority (42.5%) reported disposing of unused prescription drugs at home in the trash or toilet and 35.6% used disposal programs. Awareness of disposal programs was the only statistically significant correlate of prescription drug disposal (OR=1.39; 95% CI=1.20, 1.61; p<0.001).

Conclusions: These findings have significant implications for optimizing current public health prevention efforts related to adolescent NMPDU. Given that awareness of community disposal programs was related to disposal, developing and implementing effective awareness campaigns should be a priority of both research and practice. Our findings that disapproval of NMPDU and perceived harms associated with NMPDU were not related to disposal should be taken into account during campaign development.