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Purpose: To identify parental perception of a take-back program for medications. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was conducted at Hamad Medical Corporation, the only tertiary pediatric hospital in the State of Qatar at the time of the study. Qatar is a rapidly developing country with limited national data on the awareness of medication misuse among adults living with children at home and on the safety practices regarding medication disposal. Results: 305 questionnaires were completed (response rate = 90%). More than 80% of parents were in between 20 and 39 years of age, 70% of them were females, and 80% were college graduates. Approximately 90% of participants have immediate relatives who were taking medications for chronic diseases. Almost 60% of parents stated that they keep unused medications at home, whereas 10% were not aware of the fate of the left over medications. Approximately 95% of the parents dispose the expired medications. In terms of the mode of disposing the medications, 66% of caregivers dispose the medication bottle or package in the trash can, whereas 14% remove the medications from the bottles or packages and throw them in the trash, and 15% put them through the drain. When asked if participants read disposal measures in the medication pamphlet, only 10% answered “always,” whereas 26% answered “sometimes.” Participants were asked if they have heard of any medications take-back programs, 75% answered no, whereas 14% were not sure. However, almost 60% of them will use the take-back program if available and 18% were not sure. Conclusion: Parents residing in the State of Qatar have deficiencies in knowledge about medication disposal. Parent's attitudes and perceptions are considered indispensable targets for community health intervention. Our next step is to share our data with the ministry of health to spread awareness about the proper disposal of medicines and take-back programs in Qatar.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify parental perception of household medication storage. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study utilizing a questionnaire was carried out at Hamad Medical Corporation, the solely tertiary pediatric hospital in the State of Qatar at the time of the study. Qatar is a young developing country with limited data on the awareness of medication storage among adults with children at home and on the safety practices regarding medication storage. Results: Three hundred and five questionnaires were completed. The vast majority of parents were married, one-third of them were males, and more than three quarters were college graduates and younger than 40 years of age. Almost 80% of the parents had more than three children but less than seven. In addition, 23% of participants were health-care workers. Almost 90% of the participants stored medications in a place that is easy to reach. However, the same percentage stated that those medications were stored in a locked place and that children did not have access to them. Approximately 10% of caregivers store multiple medications in one bottle, and the same percentage of participants do not check the expiration date on the medication labels. In terms of the most common medications stored at home, antihypertensives were on top of the list. Our study has shown that parental education and being a health-care worker were each associated with the difficulty in reaching medications (P = 0.006 and P = 0.011, respectively). Moreover, the percentage of participants who shared medications was significantly higher among those who were not working in the health-care section compared to those who were (P = 0.004). In addition, being a female parent and a college graduate was associated with the possibility of keeping excess or leftover medications at home (P = 0.025). Conclusion: Parents residing in the State of Qatar have some deficiencies in knowledge about medication storage. Parent's attitudes and perceptions are deemed vital objectives for population's health intervention.

Background: Corticosteroids have been used since the 50s and it represent the most important and frequently used class of anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs for the treatment of several diseases such as numerous neoplastic, asthma, allergy, rheumatoid arthritis, and dermatological disorders. This study aims to determine the public awareness of side effects of systemic steroids in Asir region, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional web-based study was used. An online questionnaire was developed by the study researchers based on the literature review and consultations of the field experts. The questionnaire included the following components: Participants demographic data, medical history, and steroids use. Also, it covered participants awareness regarding systemic steroids and side effects. Results: A total of 439 participants fulfilling the inclusion criteria completed the study questionnaire. Ages ranged from 18 to 65 years with mean age of 26.1 ± 13.9 years old, of those, 227 (51.7%) respondents were males. Around 346 (78.8%) had poor overall awareness level while only 93 (21.2%) had good awareness regarding systematic steroids. The study also showed that awareness was significantly higher among young aged participants in the health care field and among those who previously used steroids. Two hundred and eighty two (64.2%) of the respondents reported previous use of steroids. Conclusion: In conclusion, the current study showed that nearly one out of each five people know about systemic steroids and related side effects which is below the satisfactory level. Higher awareness was observed with regards drug associated side effects and long-term use consequences.

Background: Diabetes mellitus [DM] is the most prevalent disease that affects modern human life in Saudi Arabia. People with DM must have a comprehensive understanding of the nature, risk factors, complications, and treatment methods to mitigate complications. Aim: The aim of the study is to assess diabetic patient awareness of complications and their effect on treatment compliance in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted targeting available diabetic patients in the Asir region, Saudi Arabia. Patients aged 18 years or more living in the Asir region with type 1 or type 2 diabetes were included. Data were collected from eligible patients using a pre-structured electronic questionnaire. The tool covered the following data: patients' sociodemographic data, patients' diabetes duration, patients' compliance with medical care and treatment, patients' awareness regarding diabetes-related complications, and patients' experienced complications. The questionnaire was uploaded online using social media platforms by researchers. Results: A total of 466 diabetic patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria completed the study questionnaire. Patients' age ranged from 18 to more than 50 years old, with a mean age of 38.9 ± 12.6 years old, Of the 279 patients, 59.9% were males. 143 [30.7%] patients reported measuring HbA1c every three months. 363 [77.9%] reported having a blood glucose meter at home, but only 205 [44%] reported having a good concern to measure their blood sugar and 211 [45.3%] had good diabetic control, while 124 [26.6%] reported excellent control. Of those, 218 [46.8%] patients had good awareness levels regarding diabetes-related complications, while 248 [53.2%] had poor awareness levels. Conclusions: Our study showed that diabetic patients living in Asir region had an average awareness level regarding diabetes-related complications, especially newly diagnosed, young people. Interestingly, diabetic patients showed good-to-excellent adherence to medical care and medications.