IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v60y2005i1p131-141.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effectiveness of a multi-component intervention on dispensing practices at private pharmacies in Vietnam and Thailand--a randomized controlled trial

Author

Listed:
  • Chalker, J.
  • Ratanawijitrasin, S.
  • Chuc, N. T. K
  • Petzold, M.
  • Tomson, G.

Abstract

Private pharmacies are the first line of health care in many communities, commonly selling antibiotics in small doses and prescription-only drugs such as steroids without medical supervision. The aim was to study the effectiveness of a multi-faceted intervention on the dispensing practices of drug sellers in Hanoi and Bangkok. The study was a randomized, controlled trial with 68 Hanoi and 78 Bangkok pharmacies, randomly selected and assigned for intervention and control. Behaviour was assessed by five simulated client visits per pharmacy per dispensing practice, at baseline and a month or more after each intervention. Three three-month interventions were implemented sequentially with four months in between: enforcement of regulations with local inspectors visiting to emphasize the importance of prescription-only medicine legislation; education, performed face-to-face in Hanoi and by a large group in Bangkok; and peer review, voluntary in Bangkok and compulsory in Hanoi. The intervention resulted in significant improvements in Hanoi, reducing the dispensing of illegal steroids (29% vs. 62%) and low dose antibiotics (69% vs. 90%), sustained by means of the peer review (17% vs. 57% steroids and 71% vs. 95% antibiotics), and in fewer dispensers asking no questions and giving no advice (11% vs. 30% steroids and 51% vs. 81% antibiotics). The only significant improvement in Bangkok was the reduction in illegally dispensing steroids (25% vs. 44%) after the regulatory intervention. In Bangkok, fewer of those in the group who volunteered for the peer review asked no questions and gave no advice for low-dose antibiotics requests after the peer review (58% vs. 81%). A multi-component intervention can have a profound effect in changing dispensers' behaviour, but the effect is dependant on the context and the method of implementation. Possible reasons for differences are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Chalker, J. & Ratanawijitrasin, S. & Chuc, N. T. K & Petzold, M. & Tomson, G., 2005. "Effectiveness of a multi-component intervention on dispensing practices at private pharmacies in Vietnam and Thailand--a randomized controlled trial," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 131-141, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:60:y:2005:i:1:p:131-141
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(04)00199-6
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Santoso, Budiono, 1996. "Small group intervention vs formal seminar for improving appropriate drug use," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1163-1168, April.
    2. Kamat, Vinay R. & Nichter, Mark, 1998. "Pharmacies, self-medication and pharmaceutical marketing in Bombay, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 779-794, September.
    3. Goel, P. & Ross-Degnan, D. & Berman, P. & Soumerai, S., 1996. "Retail pharmacies in developing countries: A behavior and intervention framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1155-1161, April.
    4. Ofori-Adjei, David & Arhinful, Daniel K., 1996. "Effect of training on the clinical management of malaria by medical assistants in Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1169-1176, April.
    5. Wahlström, R. & Lagerløv, P. & Stålsby Lundborg, C. & Veninga, C. C. M. & Hummers-Pradier, E. & Dahlgren, L. O. & Denig, P., 2001. "Variations in general practitioners' views of asthma management in four European countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 507-518, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. May Sudhinaraset & Matthew Ingram & Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse & Dominic Montagu, 2013. "What Is the Role of Informal Healthcare Providers in Developing Countries? A Systematic Review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(2), pages 1-12, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Baxerres, Carine & Le Hesran, Jean-Yves, 2011. "Where do pharmaceuticals on the market originate? An analysis of the informal drug supply in Cotonou, Benin," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(8), pages 1249-1256.
    2. Andia, Tatiana & Mantilla, Cesar & Rodriguez-Lesmes, Paul & Criado, Leonel & Gomez, Juan Sebastian & Ortiz, Santiago & Quintero, Andrea & Rincón, Heiner & Romero, Steffanny, 2020. "Mentioning anosmia improves how community pharmacies handle phone call requests during the COVID-19 pandemic: An audit study in Colombia," SocArXiv s2z47, Center for Open Science.
    3. Kamat, Vinay R. & Nyato, Daniel J., 2010. "Soft targets or partners in health? Retail pharmacies and their role in Tanzania's malaria control program," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 626-633, August.
    4. Valeria Oliveira-Cruz & Kara Hanson & Anne Mills, 2003. "Approaches to overcoming constraints to effective health service delivery: a review of the evidence," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(1), pages 41-65.
    5. Briggs, Charles L., 2011. "“All Cubans are doctors!” news coverage of health and bioexceptionalism in Cuba," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(7), pages 1037-1044.
    6. Carla F. Rodrigues, 2020. "Self-medication with antibiotics in Maputo, Mozambique: practices, rationales and relationships," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Alfredo Paloyo & Arndt Reichert, 2017. "Biting Back at Malaria: Assessing Health-service Providers' Compliance with Treatment Guidelines," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 591-626, August.
    8. Maria Vittoria Levati & Ivan Soraperra & Saba Yifredew, 2023. "How to Curb Over-The-Counter Sales of Antibiotics? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Ethiopia," Working Papers 10/2023, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    9. Pitaknetinan, Kitti & Tangcharoensathien, Viroj & Supachutikul, Anuwat & Bennett, Sara & Mills, Anne, 1999. "Profit, payment and pharmaceutical practices: perspectives from hospitals in Bangkok," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 179-194, March.
    10. Hoa, Nguyen Quynh & Ohman, Ann & Lundborg, Cecilia Stalsby & Chuc, Nguyen Thi Kim, 2007. "Drug use and health-seeking behavior for childhood illness in Vietnam--A qualitative study," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 320-329, August.
    11. Muhammad Majid Aziz & Minghuan Jiang & Imran Masood & Jie Chang & Shan Zhu & Muhammad Ali Raza & Wenjing Ji & Caijun Yang & Yu Fang, 2019. "Patients’ Anticipation for the Pharmacies of Rural Communities: A Qualitative Study from Pakistan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, January.
    12. Daniel Bennett & Wesley Yin, 2014. "The Market for High-Quality Medicine," NBER Working Papers 20091, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Kamat, Vinay R., 2014. "Fast, cheap, and out of control? Speculations and ethical concerns in the conduct of outsourced clinical trials in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 48-55.
    14. Mæstad, Ottar & Torsvik, Gaute & Aakvik, Arild, 2009. "Overworked? The relationship between workload and health worker performance in rural Tanzania," Working Papers in Economics 02/09, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    15. Das, Jishnu & Sanchez-Paramo, Carolina, 2003. "Short but not sweet - new evidence on short duration morbidities from India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2971, The World Bank.
    16. Markus Larsson & Karen Odberg Pettersson & John Kashiha & Michael W Ross & Anette Agardh, 2016. "Stretching the Boundaries: Tanzanian Pharmacy Workers’ Views and Experiences of Providing STI Services for Men Who Have Sex with Men," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-22, November.
    17. Céline Caillet & Chanvilay Sichanh & Gaëtan Assemat & Myriam Malet-Martino & Agnès Sommet & Haleh Bagheri & Noudy Sengxeu & Niphonh Mongkhonmath & Mayfong Mayxay & Lamphone Syhakhang & Maryse Lapeyre-, 2017. "Role of Medicines of Unknown Identity in Adverse Drug Reaction-Related Hospitalizations in Developing Countries: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study in a Teaching Hospital in the Lao People’s Democr," Drug Safety, Springer, vol. 40(9), pages 809-821, September.
    18. Rodrigues, Carla F., 2021. "Communicative trust in therapeutic encounters: users’ experiences in public healthcare facilities and community pharmacies in Maputo, Mozambique," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    19. Miller, Rosalind & Hutchinson, Eleanor & Goodman, Catherine, 2018. "‘A smile is most important.’ Why chains are not currently the answer to quality concerns in the Indian retail pharmacy sector," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 9-16.
    20. Closser, Svea & Mendenhall, Emily & Brown, Peter & Neill, Rachel & Justice, Judith, 2022. "The anthropology of health systems: A history and review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:60:y:2005:i:1:p:131-141. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.