DOI: 10.5061/dryad.zgmsbcc7w
title: Stocks of paracetamol products stored in urban New Zealand households: A cross-sectional study

description: Background Intentional self-harm is a common cause of hospital
 presentations in New Zealand and across the world, and self-poisoning is
 the most common method of self-harm. Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is
 frequently used in impulsive intentional overdoses, where ease of access
 may determine the choice of substance. Objective This cross-sectional
 study aimed to determine how much paracetamol is present and therefore
 accessible in urban New Zealand households, and sources from where it has
 been obtained. This information is not currently available through any
 other means, but could inform New Zealand drug policy on access to
 paracetamol. Methods Random cluster-sampling of households was performed
 in major urban areas of two cities in New Zealand, and the
 paracetamol-containing products, quantities, and sources were recorded.
 Population estimates of proportions of various types of paracetamol
 products were calculated. Results A total of 174 of the 201 study
 households (86.6%) had at least one paracetamol product. Study households
 had mostly prescription products (78.2% of total mass), and a median of
 24.0 g paracetamol present per household (inter-quartile range 6.0-54.0
 g). Prescribed paracetamol was the main source of large stock. Based on
 the study findings, 53% of New Zealand households had 30 g or more
 paracetamol present, and 36% had 30 g or more of prescribed paracetamol,
 specifically. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of
 assessing whether and how much paracetamol is truly needed when
 prescribing and dispensing it. Convenience of appropriate access to
 therapeutic paracetamol needs to be balanced with preventing unnecessary
 accumulation of paracetamol stocks in households and inappropriate access
 to it. Prescribers and pharmacists need to be aware of the risks of such
 accumulation and assess the therapeutic needs of their patients. Public
 initiatives should be rolled out at regular intervals to encourage people
 to return unused or expired medicines to pharmacies for safe disposal.
description: The stocks of paracetamol-containing medicines (acetaminophen)
 held at a single time point in New Zealand households are described in
 this dataset. These data were collected via a cluster-sampling survey of
 two cities in New Zealand. A door-to-door survey study
 with random, clustered sampling of consenting household members in two
 cities in New Zealand was designed. A total of 201 households in 40
 meshblocks in two Major Urban Areas (MUAs; areas of 100,000 or more
 residents) of Dunedin and Auckland were sampled. Meshblocks are Statistics
 NZ’s smallest geographic unit, and roughly correspond to a city block or
 part of it. Random cluster-sampling of 20 meshblocks in each city was
 performed by deprivation level, where all eligible MUA meshblocks were
 stratified by their New Zealand Deprivation Index 2013 (NZDep2013) index
 scores, which describe the level of area deprivation by taking into
 account multiple relevant area and household variables. Six meshblocks
 were randomly selected from each city from NZDep2013 8-10 meshblocks (most
 deprived), eight from NZDep 4-7, and 6 from NZDep2013 1-2 (least
 deprived), for a total of 40 meshblocks. This was done to obtain a sample
 that would be representative of the general New Zealand population by
 levels of deprivation. Each meshblock was sampled by starting from a
 random end of the street and then tossing a dice to choose a house to
 approach, and repeating this until either five households were recruited
 or there were no more households to sample.  Trained
 Research Assistants (RAs) knocked on the doors of domiciles in each
 meshblock to be sampled, chosen by tossing a dice as described. Inclusion
 criteria: person present and usually residing in a domicile in a meshblock
 which was sampled, and aged 16 or over. Exclusion criteria: not able to
 give informed consent (intoxicated, aggressive, otherwise not safe to
 approach – nobody was excluded for this reason).
 Household members aged 16 years and over were eligible to
 participate, and if consent was obtained, basic demographics were
 collected about the household (number of people usually residing in the
 household, their age, sex, ethnicity). Participants were then shown images
 of paracetamol-containing products (sole and combination), and requested
 to bring out all paracetamol products of their own, and any that were
 shared by the household in communal areas of the domicile. Private stock
 of any other residents of the household who were not present and were
 therefore unable to consent was not recorded for ethical reasons. If there
 were no paracetamol products present, that was recorded. If there were
 paracetamol products present, product type, strength, expiry date,
 purchase date and means of obtaining (by prescription, pharmacy
 over-the-counter [OTC], other retailer [i.e. not a pharmacy; e.g.
 supermarket, petrol station], other, unknown) were recorded.
 The data were entered into a main database which is fully
 de-identified. Meshblock numbers are included in the dataset, but
 households are only given an identifier derived from the meshblock code.
 It would not be possible to identify a specific household from the data.
 Paracetamol product names were cleaned in the dataset (if there were any
 misspellings), and new variables were calculated to summarise the data
 (e.g. total household stock of prescribed paracetamol products,
 etc.).
description: The data file has a data dictionary tab which describes the
 variables in the dataset.  Notes on missing
 values: - Household Median and Average age: 7
 households did not give full responses - Expired
 paracetamol stock: 36 households did not give full responses