Household Drug Stockpiling and Panic Buying of Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study From Jordan.

Sura Al Zoubi,Lobna Gharaibeh,Hatim M Jaber,Zaha Al-Zoubi

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.813405

Sura Al Zoubi, Lobna Gharaibeh + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.813405

Copy DOI

Abstract

The coronavirus disease that emerged in 2019 (COVID-19) has affected health, societies and economies. Policies that have been imposed by different countries to slow the spread of the disease, including national lockdowns, curfews, border closures and enforcement of social distancing measures have disturbed the drug supply chain and resulted in drug shortages. Uncertainty concerning the pandemic has also led to the panic buying of drugs and the stockpiling of drugs in households, which has amplified the problem. In this cross-sectional study, a self-developed questionnaire was distributed online in order to a) assess the practice of household drug stockpiling prior to the national lockdown in Jordan, b) investigate the factors affecting it and c) measure peoples’ knowledge about the consequences of this behaviour. Results from this study show that drug purchasing was reported by 44.3% of the participants and was most common among participants from non-medical backgrounds (336, 75.7%) or those who have chronic diseases (261, 58.8%) and taking chronic supplements (282, 63.5%) regardless of their age, gender, living area or the possession of health insurance. Analgesics and antipyretics were the most frequently purchased drugs (225, 70.5%) and anticipation of their need was the most common reason for purchasing drugs (231, 52.0%). Buyers were also less aware, when compared to non-buyers, that panic buying and drug stockpiling may lead to drug shortages (204, 45.9% vs 325, 58.1%) and that this behaviour can pose a health hazard, especially to children (221, 47.5% vs 342, 61.2%). Our study shows that panic buying of drugs and household drug stockpiling were common in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic and this was related to participants’ medical knowledge and educational backgrounds. Therefore, educating the general population regarding rational drug use is urgently needed. This is also a compelling case for the development of national guidelines for drug management that target the general population and healthcare personnel, especially pharmacists, to avoid drug shortages during crises.

Highlights

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), it has been affecting health, societies and economies (Zhou et al, 2020; Chen et al, 2021)
This study aims to assess the behaviour of the general population in Jordan in regard to the stockpiling and panic buying of drugs during the week before the full national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, investigate the factors affecting it and measure their knowledge about the consequences of this behaviour
This study measured the behaviours of panic buying and drug stockpiling by the general population during the week before the full national lockdown in which the Jordanian government declared the state of emergency to limit the spread of COVID-19 and at the end of which a formal announcement about the lockdown was made

Summary

Introduction

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), it has been affecting health, societies and economies (Zhou et al, 2020; Chen et al, 2021). Other safety measures were imposed, which included the enforcement of social distancing, such as curfews; working from home, reduced working hours for those who had to be at their place of work, reduced manpower, the closure of nonessential shops, and border closures along with the cancellation of non-essential travel Applying these lockdowns and safety measures proved to be effective and resulted in the significant decline of the infection rate and the reduction in mortality, especially when such measures were applied early (Ghosal et al, 2020; Ji et al, 2020; Taghrir et al, 2020; Lau et al, 2021)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion