Abstract
BackgroundOver the counter sale of antibiotics is a global problem and it is increasingly recognized as a source of antibiotic misuse and is believed to increase treatment costs, adverse effects of treatment and emergence of resistance. The increasing trend of over the counter sale of antibiotics in Ethiopia calls for exploration of why such dispensing is practiced. This study aims to explore reasons for over the counter sale of antibiotics in the community pharmacies of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsA phenomenological qualitative study was conducted in five randomly selected community pharmacies of Addis Ababa. One pharmacy professional from each pharmacy were interviewed at the spot using semi-structured, open-ended interview checklist. Besides, observation of professionals’ dispensing practice was made for at least one hour in the same community pharmacies using an observation checklist. Findings were categorized into specific themes that were developed following the objectives. This was facilitated by use of OpenCode 3.6 software.ResultsAll participants pointed out that antibiotics were frequently dispensed without prescription and contend that the trend of such dispensing has been increasing. The findings indicated that the nonprescription sales of antibiotics were common for Amoxicillin, Ciprofloxacin and Cotrimoxazole. The poor, less educated and younger groups of the population were reported to frequently request antibiotics without prescription. The main reasons for nonprescription sale of antibiotics by pharmacy professionals were found to be related to pharmacy owner’s influence to maximize revenue, customer’s pressure, weak regulatory mechanism and professional conflicts of interest.ConclusionThe study shows that nonprescription sale of antibiotics was common practice at least in Addis Ababa. The main reasons for this malpractice were the need to maximize revenue and weak regulatory mechanism. Hence, strong regulatory enforcement and community awareness campaign is called for to limit nonprescription sale of antibiotics.
Highlights
Over the counter sale of antibiotics is a global problem and it is increasingly recognized as a source of antibiotic misuse and is believed to increase treatment costs, adverse effects of treatment and emergence of resistance
Globally antimicrobial resistance is an emerging threats to public health, the problem is more severe in developing countries like Ethiopia where the burden of infectious diseases is relatively greater and healthcare spending is low [3,4,5,6,7]
A total of five in-depth interviews were done with pharmacy professionals from the community pharmacies in Addis Ababa
Summary
Over the counter sale of antibiotics is a global problem and it is increasingly recognized as a source of antibiotic misuse and is believed to increase treatment costs, adverse effects of treatment and emergence of resistance. The increasing trend of over the counter sale of antibiotics in Ethiopia calls for exploration of why such dispensing is practiced. This study aims to explore reasons for over the counter sale of antibiotics in the community pharmacies of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The aim of the study is to explore reasons for OTC sales of antibiotics without prescription. Addis Ababa has three types of community pharmacies or drug retail outlets namely: pharmacy, drug store/shop and rural drug vendor. This name difference, as listed from highest to lowest level, is indicative of the type of drugs they should dispense and the level of services they offer. The community pharmacies were randomly selected for the study one at a time and selection continued until information reached saturation, which was the case at four but one additional interview was made for confirmation
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