Pharmaceuticals in the environment
The impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment is a highly relevant area that requires significant efforts from all stakeholders. Pharmaceuticals in the environment can affect fish and aquatic animals, thus impacting entire ecosystems. Antibiotics released into nature have consequences for both the environment and serious health implications.
There is a great need for increased knowledge in this area, and our research group is committed to studying how to analyze and prevent the negative effects of pharmaceuticals on the environment. This involves both how to use sales data for pharmaceuticals and present this based on the potential environmental risks of the drugs, as well as how healthcare professionals can act based on the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and the effects of policy decisions regarding environmentally harmful medications.
Currently, there is an ongoing survey study on how doctors assess the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals in connection with prescribing.
One of the problems in this field is due to ignorance about pharmaceuticals, their life cycle, and management. Therefore, we have introduced an elective course focusing on the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals.
Recent publications
- Estimating environmental exposure to analgesic drugs: A cross-sectional study of drug utilization patterns in the area surrounding Sweden's largest drinking water source (Johanna Villén, Marmar Nekoro, Sofia Kälvemark Sporrong, Helle Håkonsen, Mikael G. Bertram, Björn Wettermark. Environmental Advances, Volume 12, July 2023)
- Stakeholders' perspectives and use of web-based knowledge support for environmental information on pharmaceuticals (Elkanah Linder, Johanna Villén, Marmar Nekoro, Björn Wettermark, Sofia Kälvemark Sporrong. Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, Volume 11, September 2023).
Contact
Johanna Villén, PhD student. johanna.villen@uu.se.