1,720,974 research outputs found
Policies and practices in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector: A mixed methods exploration of stakeholders’ perspectives on strategic reforms
No full textBackground: Policies and practices are key factors that determine development in any sector. In the Nigerian setting however, there is lack of evidence that the pharmaceutical sector is embedded with contextual policies and practices that can expedite development in the system. This inadvertently has an impact as regards access to medicines for the citizenry. This study therefore aimed at adopting a bottom-up approach in gathering insights into stakeholders’ perspectives on policies and practices in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector, and how they influence Medicines’ Security and consequent access to healthcare. Methods: Data were collected using a self completion questionnaire which was administered to stakeholders present during an event held in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, which focused on improving the Nigerian pharmaceutical sector. A total number of 82 questionnaires were administered to participants. Following retrieval of questionnaires, quantitative data were subjected to descriptive and inferential analyses, whilst textual data were analysed using thematic analysis approach. Results: Of the 82 questionnaires administered, response rate was 92.68%. Two-thirds of the participants were males (69.7%). A quarter of the study participants were between the ages of 41 and 50 years, whilst those above 50 years represented the most populous proportion of the sample (38.2%). A considerable proportion (48%) of the study participants indicated that current policy ecosystem was hostile for pharmaceutical sector growth and development. Also, majority (97.3%) of the study participants indicated that increased investment in health research could stimulate the development of the pharmaceutical sector. Majority of the study participants indicated the need for collaboration between pharmaceutical companies, research institutes and the petrochemical industry. Conclusion: This study consequently identified several critical factors that could stimulate development in the sector, including increased funding of research; stringent implementation of existing policies; and prioritisation of pharmaceutical sector by government and other key stakeholders
The role of pharmacists in eliminating counterfeit medicines in Nigeria
Get PDFIntroductionOver the years, counterfeit pharmaceuticals have posed immense concerns for global health and patient safety. This menace encompasses various classes of medications. Given the criticality of pharmacists’ interventions in drug distribution and supply, this study aimed at exploring their role in the prevention and control of counterfeit pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.MethodsA cross-sectional study was undertaken, using questionnaires to collect data from pharmacists across various sectors of pharmacy practice in Nigeria. Face and content validity was undertaken on the study tool prior to data collection. Ethical approval was obtained from the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development Health Research Ethics Committee, and confidentiality was strictly maintained during data collection process. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Descriptive statistical analysis was undertaken and chi square was used to determine association between socio-demographic characteristics and variables.ResultsThe responses comprised 205 (52.6%) female and 185 (47.4%) male participants. Almost all the participants (98.4%) agreed that strict enforcement of drug laws can contribute to adequate control of counterfeit medicines in Nigeria, and majority of the study sample (64.7%) indicated that the poor implementation of these laws was a major factor influencing the preponderance of counterfeit medicines in the country. Two-thirds (63.5%) of the participants supported the need for pharmacists to provide adequate education to patients on strategies to identify counterfeit medicines, and a similar proportion (68.0%) were of the opinion that it was the responsibility of pharmacists to ensure that drugs are purchased from credible sources.ConclusionFindings from this study, in addition to confirming pharmacists’ instrumentality in the fight against counterfeit medicines, identified certain context specific factors that can strengthen the regulation, policy and the entire healthcare system. Government and relevant stakeholders can therefore begin to articulate strategic reforms for contextual policy intervention that address medicines’ counterfeiting, whilst prioritising pharmacists’ role in other critical areas in the healthcare system
Access to healthcare for people with sickle cell disease: Views of healthcare professionals on policies and practices
No full textAbstract Introduction Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder with its highest prevalence in Nigeria. The condition causes red blood cells to turn rigid, and consequently, results to several complications including organ damage. This study aimed at assessing views of health practitioners in Nigeria on policies and practices in the area of access to healthcare services for sickle cell disease. Methods A cross‐sectional study was undertaken amongst healthcare professionals in Nigeria. Data were collected using a self‐administered questionnaire, and analyses were undertaken using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. Results A significant proportion of the participants (42.8%) disagreed that relevant legislative framework exists to facilitate optimal access to high‐quality healthcare services for persons with sickle cell disorder in Nigeria. Two‐thirds of the study cohort were of the opinion that public health surveillance towards sickle cell disease was suboptimal (61.2%). Also, more than three‐quarters of the respondents (78.7%) indicated that the cost of managing sickle cell disease was not affordable to majority of affected Nigerians. Conclusion This study provides critical insights into access to healthcare services for sickle cell disease. As such, challenges preventing access to healthcare services for sickle cell patients which have been identified in this study can underpin the development of contextual policies to address them
Impact of Sickle Cell Disease on Affected Individuals in Nigeria: A Critical Review
No full textObi Peter Adigwe,1 Godspower Onavbavba,1 Solomon Oloche Onoja2 1National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Nigeria, Enugu, NigeriaCorrespondence: Obi Peter Adigwe; Godspower Onavbavba, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Sickle cell disease is an autosomal recessive disorder of the beta-globin gene, with resultant deformation of the red blood cells and variable clinical outcomes. Nigeria is recognised as the country with the highest burden of sickle cell disease globally. This study aimed at critically reviewing available literature on impact of sickle cell disease in Nigeria. A literature search was carried out on four databases, and a total of 116 articles that met the inclusion criteria were included in the critical review. It was observed that majority of the studies were carried out in South-Western part of Nigeria (47.4%), whilst the North-East had the least number of studies undertaken in this area, more than a quarter of the studies (27.6%) were related to hematologic and serologic screening. Major themes that emerged from this review were morbidity and mortality; prevalence of sickle cell disease; issues relating to blood transfusion; psychosocial impact; and anatomical dysfunction in sickle cell disease. Intervention programs from both government and non-governmental organizations aimed at reducing the burden of sickle cell disease and its socio-economic impact were identified as key to strategies aimed at overcoming challenges associated with the disease. Findings from this study also revealed that education and awareness interventions were central to reducing the prevalence of sickle cell disease in this setting.Keywords: sickle cell anemia, public health, hematology, genotype, hemoglogin, gene, red blood cell, vaso-occlusive crise
Questionnaire.
No full textVaccine acceptance is complex and context-specific, varying across time, place and perceived behavioural nature of the community involved. A high vaccine acceptance rate is important to achieve herd immunity, however, vaccine hesitancy is a possible barrier to this. This study aimed to assess attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination and associated factors. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken to investigate the attitudes of Federal Capital Territory residents towards COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Nigeria. Data were collected using questionnaires which were administered to respondents physically and online through random and snowball sampling strategies respectively. Data received were then analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). A total of 1767 responses were received with males representing 57.8% of the sample. More than half (54.9%) of the respondents were between the ages of 18–30 years. A third (35.4%) of the study participants indicated that a vaccine was not necessary for COVID-19, and 56.5% indicated willingness to accept COVID-19 vaccination. The majority of the sample (56.9%) indicated that the government decision-making was in their best interest, whilst close to two-thirds of the respondents (61%) were of the view that COVID-19 vaccination should not be made compulsory. Older respondents as represented by those over 60 years were more likely to accept COVID-19 vaccination (p = 0.039). This study however revealed negative attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination, indicating the urgent need for government, policymakers, and other stakeholders to prioritise the development of strategies that can appropriately address vaccine hesitancy in the study setting. Contextual interventions indicated include strategic public enlightenment campaigns targeting populations with less favourable dispositions towards being vaccinated.</div
Cross tabulation of level of education with intellectual property.
No full textCross tabulation of level of education with intellectual property.</p
Effect of intellectual property rights waiver on pharmaceutical sector.
No full textEffect of intellectual property rights waiver on pharmaceutical sector.</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Awareness, knowledge and belief regarding bitter leaf use: A cross-sectional study in Nigeria
No full text- …
