Consumer perceptions about a community pharmacy-based medication take back program

• We explored consumers' perceptions about and interest in a medication take-back program.
• Respondents found the service valuable and had overall favorable perceptions.
• Users were older and had more favorable perceptions.
• Program effectiveness and favorable perceptions support the need for more programs.

The stockpiling and improper disposal of unused or expired medications has the potential to harm the environment and humans. Community-based medication take-back programs have been established to ensure proper disposal of unused drugs; however, few of these programs present consumers' perceptions about the program. Therefore, the main aims of this pilot study are 1) to assess the users' and non-users' perceptions about a medication take-back program and 2) to determine if perceptions differ between users and non-users. The results are based on a survey administered to 35 users and 20 non-users of a medication take-back program located at a community pharmacy in Texas. The majority of users were participating in a take-back service for the first time. Though most non-users had never participated in a take-back program, they would consider participating in the future. All users viewed the medication take-back program as a valuable service, while nearly all (90%) non-users viewed the program as a potentially valuable service. The primary reason for participating in the service was to protect the environment. Most respondents (users and non-users) were likely to choose a pharmacy that provides the take-back service more than a pharmacy that does not. More than half of respondents positively viewed paying for the service on a per weight basis. In comparison to non-users, users were significantly older, had more favorable perceptions about paying for the service, and were more likely to choose a pharmacy that provides the service. This pilot study presents overall favorable user perceptions toward medication-take back services and supports the need to establish more community-based take back programs to meet the needs of consumers.