Prescription medication sharing in England: A population-based telephone survey

Problem

Prescribing of medicines is a major therapeutic intervention occurring largely in primary care. When taken as prescribed, medicines have the potential to improve health and quality of life. However, if not taken correctly, medicines can be associated with harm. The inappropriate use of prescription medicines has significant resource implications for the health service and is associated with a range of adverse health consequences for patients. Sharing of prescription medicines is a form of inappropriate medication use. Medication sharing is defined as the lending or borrowing of prescription medicines where the recipient of those medicines is someone other than the person for whom the prescription is intended. Prescription medication sharing outside of the UK is common with reported prevalence rates for borrowing range from 5% to 52% and loaning from 6% to 23%. The prevalence of non-recreational prescription medication sharing in the UK setting is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and predictors (non-modifiable and modifiable factors) of loaning and borrowing of prescription medication.

Approach

A population-based telephone survey with a nationally representative sample of 3000 adults (aged 18 years or more). The survey was used to capture non-modifiable risk factors including age, gender, ethnicity, highest education level, socioeconomic status and household size alongside medication sharing status (e.g., whether the respondent has lent or borrowed prescription medicines in the previous 12 months and/or in their lifetime), type of medication shared, frequency of sharing in their lifetime and the last 12 months. Hypothetical attitudinal statements with 5-point Likert scale response options (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree) were used to assess modifiable behaviours. This included perceptions of the benefits and safety of medication practices and circumstances in which people think it is acceptable to share.

Findings

Findings from the multivariate logistic regression analysis will be presented. This includes associations between predictor variables such as demographics, perceptions of safety/benefit and situations with whether the respondent engages in sharing behaviour, separately for loaning and borrowing behaviours will be discussed.

Consequences

Identification of types of medicines shared and characteristics of those most likely to engage in prescription medication sharing practices, will help inform the design of future interventions aimed at reducing potential harms resulting from these behaviours.