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Relationship Between Fake Drugs And People's Perception Of Health Care Delivery System In Onitsha Urban
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Fake
Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Decree
1993 as amended, a fake drug is defined as
“a. Any drug or drug product which is not what it purports to be; or
b.
Any drug or drug product which is so colored, coated, powdered or
polished that the damage is concealed or which is made to appear to be
better or of greater therapeutic value than it really is, which is not
labeled in the prescribed manner or which label or container or anything
accompanying the drug bears any statement, design or device which makes
false claim for the drug or which is false or misleading; or
c. Any drug or drug product whose container is so made, formed or filled as to be misleading; or
d.
Any drug product whose label does not bear adequate directions for use
and such adequate warning against use in those pathological conditions
or by children where its use may be dangerous to health or against
unsafe dosage or methods or duration of use; or
e. Any drug
product which is not registered by the National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in accordance with the provisions
of the Food, Drugs and related products (Registration, etc).
The
consumption of counterfeit drugs is worst error that can occur in HCDS.
It is an error because both the health care provider and consumer do not
know they are using the wrong drug. Fake drugs are eroding both the
essence of health care delivery system (HCDS) and confidence people have
in the system. Counterfeiters are into everything the pharmaceutical
industry produces – from life saving drugs, for example, HIV/AIDS,
antituberculosis, anticancer, antidiabetic, antihypertensive to
recreational drugs. The existence and functionality of our HCDS is being
threatened, as many pharmaceutical manufacturers who spend large
amounts of money on research, production and supply of genuine drugs are
being edged out of business by fake drug manufacturers.
The
relationship between fake drugs and people’s perception of health care
delivery system can be looked at from two perspectives:
Health care consumers’ perspective
Health care providers’ perspective
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Counterfeit
drugs are believed to be poisonous, toxic, threats to life, health
risks, without therapeutic usefulness, with insufficient therapeutic
benefits; and can cause treatment failures, death, disease
complications, worsening of disease conditions, development of drug
resistance, delayed recovery and human organ damage. Because of these
effects, the confidence of both the health care professionals and
consumers in our health care delivery system is in doubt.
In the
past, Nigerian government through her regulatory agencies such as NAFDAC
had made serious efforts toward solving this problem. The regulatory
agencies have increased public awareness on fake drugs, ensured that
drugs in use in Nigeria are approved and registered, known fake drug
manufacturers are banned from marketing their products in Nigeria,
re-inspection of production facilities to ensure that such facilities
still conform to appropriate standards, and persons caught with fake
drugs were made to pay heavy penalties. Also, the agencies have
interacted with some foreign governments to ensure that such countries’
pharmaceutical industries export to Nigeria only genuine products.
This
study will investigate the relationship between fake drug use in health
care delivery system and people’s perception of health care delivery
system.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
We might have heard, we might have
observed, and we might have read reports on problems of fake drugs.
Unfortunately, what is known to the public as regards to the problem of
fake drugs is a tip of the ice bag. The true situation is far from known
or reported. The cause(s) of most deaths are not identified or
confirmed through autopsy.
But how do these problems affect people’s
perception of our health care delivery system? This question is what
this study intends to answer.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is my belief that this study will
Increase the level of commitment of people to their health care needs.
Motivate
people to ensure that the quality of drugs, health care services and
qualification of their health care providers are as prescribed and
regulated by government.
3. Encourage people to acquire self – care knowledge and skills that they need to
participate more actively in fostering their own health and in shaping conditions that influence their own health.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This study was conducted to assess the relationship between fake drug (FD) use and people’s attitude towards healthcare delivery system (HCDS). Participants (n = 103) were both healthcare providers (56) and consumers (47). 36 were males and 67 were females above eighteen years. They were selected through a random sampling technique. The mean ages were 37.2, 34.2 and 42.8 for all the participants, female participants and male participants respectively. All testing took place in Onitsha Gen ... Continue reading---
