Abstract

ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF PHARMACISTS AND PHYSICIANS TOWARDS GENERIC DRUG USE, NORTHEAST ETHIOPIA

Abebe Z. Belay*, Teshager Aklilu Yesuf and Admasu Assen

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The cost of pharmaceutical products is increasing from time to time. Substitution of generics for brand products might be an option to reduce medicine expenditure. Patients, physicians and pharmacists may have misinformation about the efficacies of generics which can cause hesitation about the use of these drugs. The use of high cost brand products is common in Ethiopia and it is a challenge for patients as well as the economy of the country. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge and attitudes of physicians and pharmacists about generic and brand drug use in South Wollo, Ethiopia. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conductedusing a self-administered questionnaire Involving 44 pharmacists and 34physicians working at both private and public health institutions from April to June 2017 in four towns of South Wollo Zone. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 20.0 statistical software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA). The Mann Whitney test and Kursksal Wallis was used to determine the association between socio-demographic variables and physicians’ and pharmacists’ knowledge and attitudes regarding generic and brand medicines. The significance level was set as p < 0.05. Results: The mean age of study participants was 21.32 ± 7.01 years and more than half (56.4%) of them were pharmacists. About half (51.3%) of study participants perceived that wider use of generic medicines will result in decrease in health care. However, 20.8% of them believed that generic medicines are inferior quality compared to brand medicines. Most of the study participants agreed intensity of promotional activities by promoters play an important role in the use of brand medicines. Availability at stock, cost, and country of production, client preference and efficacy were the most important influencing factors in choosing generic medicines by physicians and pharmacists. Conclusion: Despite their good knowledge physicians and pharmacists have concerns about generic drugs’ quality and reliability. In order to eliminate these concerns, a collaborative effort among policy makers, drug regulatory authorities, professional associations, universities and patients is required.

Keywords: Generic products, Knowledge, Attitude, Pharmacists, Physicians