Research Article Open Access

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Community Pharmacy Professionals’ towards Substandard and Falsified Medicines in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional Survey

Abstract

Introduction: The availability of substandard and falsified medicines in the market grants a serious public health problem and a significant impact on the national economy. The current estimate suggests that 10% of prescription drugs sold worldwide are substandard, fake or contaminated, and in parts of Africa and Asia, the figures exceed 50%. Professionals awareness of falsified medicines is a major problem that could lead to a public health crisis. This study aimed to assess the community pharmacy professionals’ knowledge, attitude and practice towards SFMs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study design with a systematic random sampling technique was employed on community pharmacy professionals. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and the collected data was analyzed using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Simple descriptive statistics were used to describe the variables.

Results: Among the total 323 community pharmacists, 264 (81.7%) were aware of SFM and only 98 (37.1%) of them correctly define SFMs. Among those having awareness, 196 (74.2%) respondents claimed that the main country of origin for SFM was India followed by China 103 (39%) and Ethiopia 43 (16.3%). Antibiotics 128 (48.5%), chronic disease medicines 94 (35.6%) and expensive and unavailable medicines 79 (29.9%) were the most frequently mentioned class of medicines with the highest risk of falsification. Whereas, Mebendazole suspension 46 (45%), Metronidazole 32 (31.4%) and Muscle builders 31 (30.4%) were among the most frequently mentioned SFMs they encountered. The participants' mean level of agreement for attitude questions was between 2.02 and 4.19 whereas SFMs use and practice was very low.

Conclusion: This study indicated community pharmacy professionals’ knowledge and practice were found to be moderate and a large proportion of them had a positive attitude, although there appeared to be differences across attitude questions. Designing and implementing continuing education programs on SFMs and enforcement of vigilant laws were identified as means of tackling SFM.

Solomon Getnet Meshesha

To read the full article Download Full Article | Visit Full Article