Antimalarial stocking decisions among medicine retailers in Ghana: implications for quality management and control of malaria
Global health efforts such as malarial control require efficient pharmaceutical supply chains to ensure effective delivery of quality-assured medicines to those who need them. However, very little is currently known about decision-making processes within antimalarial supply chains and potential vuln...
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Veröffentlicht in: | BMJ global health 2023-09, Vol.6 (Suppl 3), p.e013426 |
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Zusammenfassung: | Global health efforts such as malarial control require efficient pharmaceutical supply chains to ensure effective delivery of quality-assured medicines to those who need them. However, very little is currently known about decision-making processes within antimalarial supply chains and potential vulnerabilities to substandard and falsified medicines. Addressing this gap, we report on a study that investigated decision-making around the stocking of antimalarial products among private-sector medicine retailers in Ghana. Licensed retail pharmacies and over-the-counter (OTC) medicine retail outlets were sampled across six regions of Ghana using a two-stage stratified sampling procedure, with antimalarial medicines categorised as 'expensive,' 'mid-range,' and 'cheaper,' relative to other products in the shop. Retailers were asked about their motivations for choosing to stock particular products over others. The reasons were grouped into three categories: financial, reputation/experience and professional recommendation. Reputation/experience (76%, 95% CI 72.0% to 80.7%) were the drivers of antimalarial stocking decisions, followed by financial reasons (53.2%, 95% CI 48.1% to 58.3%) and recommendation by certified health professionals (24.7%, 95% CI 20.3% to 29.1%). Financial considerations were particularly influential in stocking decisions of cheaper medicines. Moreover, pharmacies and OTCs without a qualified pharmacist were significantly more likely to indicate financial reasons as a motivation for stocking decisions. No significant differences in stocking decisions were found by geographical location (zone and urban/rural) or outlet (pharmacy/OTC). These findings have implications for the management of antimalarial quality across supply chains in Ghana, with potentially important consequences for malaria control, particularly in lower-income areas where people rely on low-cost medication. |
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ISSN: | 2059-7908 2059-7908 |
DOI: | 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013426 |