Multicenter study on self-medication and self-prescription in six Latin American countries

被引:67
作者
Castel, JM [1 ]
Laporte, JR [1 ]
Reggi, V [1 ]
机构
[1] CIUDAD SANITARIA & UNIV VALL HEBRON,WHO,COLLABORATING CTR RES & TRAIN PHARMACOEPIDEMIOL,E-08035 BARCELONA,SPAIN
关键词
D O I
10.1016/S0009-9236(97)90199-5
中图分类号
R9 [药学];
学科分类号
1007 ;
摘要
Objective: To evaluate the patterns of self-medication in Latin-American countries. Methods: This cross-sectional drug utilization study took place at 242 pharmacies in 11 study areas in six countries. Unselected samples of customers were interviewed with a structured questionnaire after they had purchased a medicinal product without any medical prescription and without seeking or accepting the advice of the pharmacist or pharmacy counter assistant. Results: We interviewed 8597 consumers. They had purchased 10,569 pharmaceutical products. Ten percent of the products were intended for family use, 14.1% were for children, 68.2% were for adults, and 7.9% were for elderly people. Thirty-nine percent of the products were fixed-dose combinations, and 19% contained three or more active ingredients. Analgesics (16.8%) were the leading group of drugs, followed by antibiotics (7.4%), antiinflammatory and antirheumatic products (5.9%), and vitamins (5.1%). Consumers interviewed purchased relatively high numbers of cardiovascular drugs (494, 5%) and drugs that act on the central nervous system (256, 2.4%). Only 34% of dispensed drugs had an approved over-the-counter status; less restrictive criteria suggest that 24% should have been dispensed on a medical prescription. Conclusions: The high proportion of fixed-dose combinations reflects poorly regulated pharmaceutical markets. The relatively high proportion of drugs dispensed without a medical prescription that nevertheless need medical follow-up is probably attributable to difficult access to medical care. The potential effectiveness of these treatments is therefore jeopardized by lack of medical follow-up. There is a need for implementation of a comprehensive pharmaceutical and health care policy in the participating countries.
引用
收藏
页码:488 / 493
页数:6
相关论文
共 13 条
[1]  
[Anonymous], 1990, GUIDELINES ATC CLASS
[2]  
BENSASSON M, 1987, REV PRESCR, V7, P86
[3]  
CHETLEY A, 1995, WHO DRUG INFORMATION, V9, P10
[4]  
FLEISS JL, 1981, STATISTICAL METHODS, P244
[5]  
Juul P, 1991, SWISS PHARM, V13, P100
[6]  
LEVIN LS, 1988, SELF MEDICATION EURO
[7]  
Reinstein J. A, 1995, WHO DRUG INFORMATION, V9, P11
[8]  
REINSTIEN JA, 1991, SWISS PHARM, V13, P21
[9]  
1994, SCRIP OTC NEWS, V14, P2
[10]  
1994, SCRIP OTC NEWS, V6, P4