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Medicine ‘misuse’: Implications for health and environmental sustainability

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  • Thomas, Felicity
  • Depledge, Michael

Abstract

Recent decades have witnessed a global rise in the use of medical pharmaceuticals to combat disease. However, estimates suggest that over half of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately, and that half of all patients fail to take them as directed. Bringing together research from across the medical, natural and social sciences, this paper considers what we know about the causes, impacts and implications of medicine misuse in relation to health, the sustainable use of pharmaceuticals and their unintended effects in the environment. We suggest that greater insight and understanding of medicine misuse can be gained by integrating the biomedical-focused approaches used in public health with approaches that consider the social and environmental determinants of medical prescribing and consuming practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas, Felicity & Depledge, Michael, 2015. "Medicine ‘misuse’: Implications for health and environmental sustainability," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 81-87.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:143:y:2015:i:c:p:81-87
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.08.028
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Busfield, Joan, 2015. "Assessing the overuse of medicines," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 199-206.
    2. Pound, Pandora & Britten, Nicky & Morgan, Myfanwy & Yardley, Lucy & Pope, Catherine & Daker-White, Gavin & Campbell, Rona, 2005. "Resisting medicines: a synthesis of qualitative studies of medicine taking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 133-155, July.
    3. Busfield, Joan, 2010. "'A pill for every ill': Explaining the expansion in medicine use," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(6), pages 934-941, March.
    4. Henry Greely & Barbara Sahakian & John Harris & Ronald C. Kessler & Michael Gazzaniga & Philip Campbell & Martha J. Farah, 2008. "Towards responsible use of cognitive-enhancing drugs by the healthy," Nature, Nature, vol. 456(7223), pages 702-705, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas, Felicity, 2016. "Young people's use of medicines: Pharmaceuticalised governance and illness management within household and school settings," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 150-158.
    2. de Barra, Mícheál, 2017. "Reporting bias inflates the reputation of medical treatments: A comparison of outcomes in clinical trials and online product reviews," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 248-255.

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