OBJECTIVES: To review the literature on consumers' knowledge, attitudes and opinions of the use of generic medicines.
METHOD: A narrative review of studies conducted from 1970 to 2008 on consumers perceptions and views towards generic medicines was performed. An extensive literature search was undertaken using indexing services available at the authors' institution library. The following keywords were used for the search: brand, generic, multisource, medications, medicines, drugs, pharmaceuticals and consumers, customers, and patients. Electronic databases searched were Medline, Inside Web, ISI Web of Knowledge, Science Direct, Springer Link, JSTOR, Proquest, Ebsco Host and Google Scholar. These electronic databases were searched for full text papers published in English from 1970 to October 2008.
KEY FINDINGS: Twenty studies were identified. Eleven were from the USA, four were from Europe, two were from Canada and one each was from Australia, Brazil and Malaysia. In general, consumers showed mixed reactions towards the use of generic medicines. This was evident from the divergence of views observed by country development level, consumers' socioeconomic characteristics, drug product characteristics, pharmaceutical reimbursement system, policy environment, contact with health care professionals, past experience with medications, and knowledge of the seriousness of a medical condition.
CONCLUSIONS: Patient confidence and knowledge pertaining to generic medicines use have increased over the past four decades, especially in developed countries. Mass educational efforts, financial incentives, and greater communication among patients and health care professionals were seen as major drivers to the uptake of generic medicines among consumers.
Self-medication (SM) is characterized by the procurement and use of medicines by bypassing primary healthcare services and without consulting a physician, usually to manage acute symptoms of self-diagnosed illnesses. Due to the limited availability of primary healthcare services and the anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the compulsion to SM by the public has increased considerably. The study aimed to assess the characteristics, practices, and associated factors of SM by the public during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sargodha, Pakistan. χ2-tests and univariable analyses were conducted to explore the identification of characteristics and the potential contributing factors for SM during COVID-19, while multivariable logistic regression models were run to study the effect of variables that maintained a significant association. The study was performed during July−September 2021, with n = 460 questionnaires returned overall (response rate: 99.5%). The majority of respondents were males (58.7%, n = 270) who live in the periphery of the town (63.9%, n = 294), and most of the respondents belonged to the age group of 18−28 years (73.3%, n = 339). A large number, 46.1% (n = 212), of the participants were tested for COVID-19 during the pandemic, and among them, 34.3% (n = 158) practiced SM during the pandemic; the most common source of obtaining medicines was requesting them directly from a pharmacy (25.0%; n = 127). The chances of practicing SM for medical health professionals were 1.482 (p-value = 0.046) times greater than for non-medical health personnel. The likelihood of practicing SM in participants whose COVID-19 test was positive was 7.688 (p-value < 0.001) times more than who did not test for COVID-19. Allopathic medicines, acetaminophen (23.6%), azithromycin (14,9%), and cough syrups (13%), and over the counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals, vitamin oral supplements, such as Vitamin C (39.1%), folic acid (23.5%), and calcium (22.6%), were the most commonly consumed medicines and supplements, respectively; being a healthcare professional or having a COVID-test prior showed a significant association with the usage of Vitamin C (p < 0.05 in all cases). Respondents who mentioned unavailability of the physician and difficulty in travelling/reaching healthcare professionals were found 2.062-times (p-value = 0.004) and 1.862-times (p-value = 0.021) more likely to practice SM, respectively; SM due to fear of COVID was more common in individuals who had received COVID-tests prior (p = 0.004). Practices of SM were observed at alarming levels among our participants. Consciousness and understanding about the possible adverse effects of SM must be established and validated on a continuous level; in addition, on a commercial level, collaboration from pharmacists not to sell products (especially prescription-only medicines) without a certified prescription must be developed and implemented.
Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge and perception of medical and pharmacy students toward the usage of sunblock as skin protection against ultraviolet (UV).
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate final year medical and pharmacy students at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Validated questionnaire were used to collect the data. The questionnaires were distributed to 134 students from medicine and 100 pharmacy students. Descriptive and inferential statistics are used whenever appropriate.
Results: Overall, 161 participants out of a total of 234 completed the questionnaire with 101 medical students (75.4%) and 60 pharmacy students (60.0%). Majority of the respondents were female 64 (63.4%) and 37 (36.6%) were male. The median of knowledge scores of the final year medical students was significantly lower than the final year pharmacy students (p<0.01). There is no significant differnce between the knowledge of the female and male students (Mann Whitney U Test value = 0.27, p<0.01). This study reported that 24 (39.3 %) of pharmacy students were influenced by the media to use sunblock whereas 35 (34.7%) of medical students had the highest influence from friends to use sunblock. However, this study showed there was no significant difference in the perception of pharmacy and medical students p=0.020.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the knowledge of pharmacy students is significantly higher than the knowledge of medical students had on the usage of sunblock. Both medical and pharmacy students have the same level of perception towards the usage of sunblock.