scholarly journals Sub-Standard Pharmaceutical Services in Private Healthcare Facilities Serving Low-Income Settlements in Nairobi County, Kenya

Pharmacy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kennedy Abuga ◽  
Dennis Ongarora ◽  
Jamlick Karumbi ◽  
Millicent Olulo ◽  
Warnyta Minnaard ◽  
...  

Background: Quality pharmaceutical services are an integral part of primary healthcare and a key determinant of patient outcomes. The study focuses on pharmaceutical service delivery among private healthcare facilities serving informal settlements within Nairobi County, Kenya and aims at understanding the drug procurement practices, task-shifting and ethical issues associated with drug brand preference, competition and disposal of expired drugs. Methods: Forty-five private facilities comprising of hospitals, nursing homes, health centres, medical centres, clinics and pharmacies were recruited through purposive sampling. Structured electronic questionnaires were administered to 45 respondents working within the study facilities over an 8-week period. Results: About 50% of personnel carrying out drug procurement belonged to non-pharmaceutical cadres namely; doctors, clinical officers, nurses and pharmacy assistants. Drug brand preferences among healthcare facilities and patients were mainly pegged on perceived quality and price. Unethical business competition practices were recorded, including poor professional demeanour and waiver of consultation fees veiled to undercut colleagues. Government subsidized drugs were sold at 100% profit in fifty percent of the facilities stocking them. In 44% of the facilities, the disposal of expired drugs was not in conformity to existing government regulatory guidelines. Conclusions: There is extensive task-shifting and delegation of pharmaceutical services to non-pharmaceutical cadres and poor observance of ethical guidelines in private facilities. Strict enforcement of regulations is required for optimal practices.

Pharmacy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ongarora ◽  
Karumbi ◽  
Minnaard ◽  
Abuga ◽  
Okungu ◽  
...  

Medicine prices are a major determinant of access to healthcare. Owing to low availability of medicines in the public health facilities and poor accessibility to these facilities, most low-income residents pay out-of-pocket for health services and transport to the private health facilities. In low-income settlements, high retail prices are likely to push the population further into poverty and ill health. This study assessed the retail pricing, availability, and affordability of medicines in private health facilities in low-income settlements within Nairobi County. Medicine prices and availability data were collected between September and December 2016 at 45 private healthcare facilities in 14 of Nairobi’s low-income settlements using electronic questionnaires. The International Medical Products Price Guide provided international medicine reference prices for comparison. Affordability and availability proxies were calculated according to existing methods. Innovator brands were 13.8 times more expensive than generic brands. The lowest priced generics and innovator brands were, on average, sold at 2.9 and 32.6 times the median international reference prices of corresponding medicines. Assuming a 100% disposable income, it would take 0.03 to 1.33 days’ wages for the lowest paid government employee to pay for treatment courses of selected single generic medicines. Medicine availability in the facilities ranged between 2% and 76% (mean 43%) for indicator medicines. Prices of selected medicines varied within the 14 study regions. Retail medicine prices in the low-income settlements studied were generally higher than corresponding international reference prices. Price variations were observed across different regions although the regions comprise similar socioeconomic populations. These factors are likely to impact negatively on healthcare access.


Crisis ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn M. Wilson ◽  
Bruce K. Christensen

Background: Our laboratory recently confronted this issue while conducting research with undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo (UW). Although our main objective was to examine cognitive and genetic features of individuals with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), the study protocol also entailed the completion of various self-report measures to identify participants deemed at increased risk for suicide. Aims and Methods: This paper seeks to review and discuss the relevant ethical guidelines and legislation that bear upon a psychologist’s obligation to further assess and intervene when research participants reveal that they are at increased risk for suicide. Results and Conclusions: In the current paper we argue that psychologists are ethically impelled to assess and appropriately intervene in cases of suicide risk, even when such risk is revealed within a research context. We also discuss how any such obligation may potentially be modulated by the research participant’s expectations of the role of a psychologist, within such a context. Although the focus of the current paper is on the ethical obligations of psychologists, specifically those practicing within Canada, the relevance of this paper extends to all regulated health professionals conducting research in nonclinical settings.


2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 ◽  
pp. 247-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Jarvis ◽  
J.E.L. Day ◽  
B. Reed

Animal science research is important in relation to our understanding of animals, their function and performance, and their relationships with their social and physical environments. Animal science research covers a wide range of disciplines and so can lead to the use of a variety of experimental techniques on animals for many different purposes. This has the potential to lead to a multitude of diverse ethical issues. Members of the British Society of Animal Science and authors of papers submitted to the Society for publication come from countries around the world and therefore are subject to differences in legislative requirements and recommendations regarding animal experimentation. These legal requirements, along with the ethical implications of the research must be fully considered before any experimental work is undertaken.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S39-S39
Author(s):  
S. Galderisi ◽  
F. Caputo

IntroductionMobile health (m-health) technology has been growing rapidly in the last decades. The use of this technology represents an advantage, especially for reaching patients who otherwise would have no access to healthcare. However, many ethical issues arise from the use of m-health. Health equity, privacy policies, adequate informed consent and a competent, safe and high quality healthcare need to be guaranteed; professional standards and quality of doctor-patient relationship in the digital setting should not be lower than those set for in-person practice.AimsTo assess advantages and threats that may arise from the wide use of m-health technologies, in order to guarantee the application of the best medical practices, resulting in the highest quality healthcare.MethodsA literature search has been conducted to highlight the most pressing ethical issues emerging from the spreading of m-health technologies.ResultsFew ethical guidelines on the appropriate use of m-health have been developed to help clinicians adopt a professional conduct within digital settings. They focus on the need for professional associations to define ethical guidelines and for physicians to take care of their education and online behavior when using m-health technologies.ConclusionsThe rapid spreading of m-health technologies urges us to evaluate all ethical issues related to its use. It would be advisable to produce an ethical code for the use of these new technologies, to guarantee health equity, privacy protection, high quality doctor-patient relationships and to ensure that m-health is not chosen over traditional care for merely economic purposes.Disclosure of interestSG received honoraria or Advisory board/consulting fees from the following companies: Lundbeck, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Hoffman-La Roche, Angelini-Acraf, Otsuka, Pierre Fabre and Gedeon-Richter. All other authors have declared.


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (spe2) ◽  
pp. 148-154
Author(s):  
Paula Renata Miranda dos Santos ◽  
Elisangela Cerencovich ◽  
Laura Filomena Santos de Araújo ◽  
Roseney Bellato ◽  
Sonia Ayako Tao Maruyama

This study discusses ethical issues in research involving human beings and seeks to understand the relationship between qualitative research and the ethical care guidelines for Integrative Community Therapy (ICT) circles based on Resolution 466/12 of the National Health Council of the Ministry of Health of Brazil. This is documentary research, which analyzed Resolution 466/12 and ICT circles seeking to make a connection between the ethical guidelines contained in both. The analysis of the corpus was directed toward the construction of the following results: the person's perception, cultural diversity and community. It also brings in consideration of the influence of the ethical dimension of the ICT circles on qualitative research. We conclude that ICT circles are innovative in the sense of the diversity of participants and respect for cultural and social differences. Thus, ICT circles promote acquisition of quality information for social research as well as compliance with the ethical guidelines outlined in Resolution No. 466/12.


2013 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vittoradolfo Tambone ◽  
Gaetano Piccinocchi ◽  
Massimiliano Andrea Vitali

Il medico di Medicina Generale, per la natura della sua professione, si trova spesso di fronte a problematiche etiche e bioetiche molto diverse, almeno in termini di applicazione, da quelle in cui si trovano i medici ospedalieri e che sembrano coinvolgere la Pratica Clinica nel suo complesso (tessuto sociale e familiare, la medicina del territorio). Tali dinamiche, a volte, rimangono ignorate e lontane anche dagli obiettivi didattici del sistema universitario italiano. L’obiettivo di questo studio pilota, è quello di raccogliere dati oggettivi sufficienti per poter organizzare un piano formativo specifico che colleghi il mondo universitario e la medicina del territorio. A tal fine è stato predisposto un questionario dall’analisi del quale emerge che i principali problemi etici percepiti dai medici di Medicina Generale sono la comunicazione di cattive notizie, i problemi familiari associati alle dipendenze (alcol, droghe, eccetera) ed il rapporto con i colleghi. Si può affermare, in base ai dati raccolti, che i problemi legati alla comunicazione (che in Letteratura rappresentano circa il 5% rispetto a quelli abitualmente considerati prioritari nel dibattito bioetico – quali aborto, fecondazione in vitro ed eutanasia) e quelli derivanti dalla difficoltà nel relazionarsi con i problemi accessori a quelli strettamente sanitari, come ad esempio i problemi familiari associati alle dipendenze, sono prioritari nella percezione degli intervistati. È emerso, inoltre, che il sentire la necessità di acquisire strumenti formativi in ambito etico è correlato all’esperienza della difficoltà ad interagire con questa tipologia di problematiche che non varia in funzione degli anni lavorativi trascorsi. Infine è emerso che le attività formative preferite (corsi residenziali, ECM e Master) sono quelle che permettono maggiore relazione formativa interpersonale sia con docenti (relazione verticale), sia con colleghi (relazione orizzontale). Tale tendenza suggerisce di dedicare maggiore attenzione alla formazione relazionale, probabilmente inserendo nella didattica formale moduli specifici di Psicologia Sociale e di Antropologia. ---------- The general practitioner, by nature of his profession, is often faced with many different ethical and bioethical issues from those with which other physicians who work in healthcare facilities are faced with. These problems seem to involve the whole social and family structure and primary healthcare, concerning aspects that are sometimes disregarded and distant even from the learning goals of the Italian university system. The aim of this pilot study is to collect objective data enough to organize a specific training plan that links university to general practice medicine. A questionnaire was therefore developed and submitted in an anonymous form to the participants of the 32nd National Congress of the Italian Society of General Medicine, held in Florence in November of 2011. The analysis of the questionnaires has shown that the main ethical problems perceived among general practitioners are communicating bad news, family problems associated with addictions (alcohol, drugs, etc.) and professional relationships with colleagues. According to the data collected, the following matters are most important for the respondents: problems related to communication (which in literature represent about 5% of the priorities usually considered the bioethical debate – such as abortion, in vitro fertilization and euthanasia) and those arising from the difficulty in incidental problems which are not strictly healthcare related, such as family problems associated with addictions. Furthermore feeling the need to acquire tools and training in ethics is related to experiencing the uneasiness with this kind of problem, and the fact that this uneasiness does not change with the years spent working, suggests that it is constantly present in this professional category. However, as many as 27% of respondents affirm they have not encountered ethical issues during their career. Finally it was found that the preferred learning types (residential courses, CME and post graduate diplomas) are those that allow greater interpersonal or educational relationship with teachers (vertical relationship) and with colleagues (horizontal relationship). This trend suggests to put greater emphasis on relational training possibly by introducing specific courses to Psychology and Social Anthropology in frontal teaching.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
BETTY MAGANDA ◽  
Godeliver A Kagashe ◽  
Honorata Chagula ◽  
Vitalis B Mbuya ◽  
Kisa Mwamwitwa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Poor quality products, adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and medication errors (ME) are reported to negatively influence health care cost, patients’ treatment outcomes and quality of life. One way which can help in detection and prevention of their occurrence is through spontaneous reporting of these effects/events to the regulatory bodies. Despite the efforts done by regulatory bodies in different countries including Tanzania, the rate of reporting has remained low. This study therefore, assessed the participation of private healthcare facilities in pharmacovigilance (PV) activities in Tanzania Mainland. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in selected regions in Tanzania from December 2017 to June 2018. A total of 169 healthcare facilities and 192 healthcare professionals were involved. Data was collected using questionnaires and standard checklist. Results: Only (17%) of the respondents had good knowledge on PV activities and only (29.7%) of the participants had attended training on PV. Over 50% of respondents were not aware that PV activities reports are to be sent to a National pharmacovigilance center. Majority (89.7%) of the healthcare facilities assessed had no system for monitoring and reporting PV activities. About (55.7%) of the respondents said that they had observed ADRs in patients while (27.6%) had detected poor quality products and (51.1%) spotted medication errors in their practice, but none of them sent a report to the National pharmacovigilance center. Lack of PV tools (60.9%), poor knowledge on reporting procedures (69.8%) and lack of feedback and weak supervision from Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA (93.3%) and (9.4%), respectively were the major obstacles for carrying out PV activities. Of the 47 respondents whereas, their healthcare facilities had systems for monitoring and reporting PV activities had a view that attending more training (74.5%), increase availability of PV tools (10.6%), frequent supervision from TMDA (12.8%), and inclusion of PV training in undergraduate and postgraduate training curricula (2.1%) may improve involvement in pharmacovigilance activities Conclusions: Majority of private healthcare facilities participated poorly in PV activities, because of lack of pharmacovigilance training, knowledge on reporting and unavailability of systems and tools for monitoring and reporting on pharmacovigilance activities.


Author(s):  
Allan J. Kimmel

Social influence researchers encounter a variety of ethical issues in the conduct of their investigations, including those involving deception, privacy, and confidentiality. Facing a growing array of ethical guidelines, governmental regulations, and institutional review, researchers are faced with decisions that often pit the search for scientific knowledge against human welfare. Ethical decisions pertaining to social influence research methodology can have an impact on research participants, organizations, the scientific discipline, and society in general. This chapter surveys ethical issues in the conduct of laboratory, field, online, and applied research; describes remedial efforts (e.g., debriefing) to mitigate adverse research effects; and considers the nature of the ethical review process.


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