DATA ON EVALUATING THE ATTITUDE, BEHAVIOR, AND RELEVANT FACTORS IN DISPENSING ANTI-BIOTICS WITHOUT PRESCRIPTION AT PHARMACIES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN VIETNAM
Description
Objective: To standardize a questionnaire about the attitude and behavior of drug dispensers in dispensing antibiotics without prescription (DAwP), and to evaluate the attitude, behavior and relevant factors in DAwP of pharmacy dispensers (PDs) at community pharmacies (CPs) in Can Tho city, Viet Nam in 2022. Methods: The descriptive transversal study was a quantitative analysis of survey data, including a self-administered questionnaire based on the “Theory of Planned Behavior”. The questionnaire is composed of 33 statements scored on the 5-point Likert scale, which was completed by interview with 180 PDs to Can Tho. Results: Of the 80 participants, 65% of drug dispensers were female (n= 117), 59.4% graduated from medical university graduates (n= 107), and 80.6% had less than 10 years of experience (n=145). Pharmacies are the first destination that patients think about when they have health concerns. Unfortunately, it is not in compliance with the regulations governing the sale of antibiotics in case where clients ask for without a valid prescription. In the study, the authors found that Perceived Behavioral Control factors (PBC) were found to be the most critical determinants of the coefficient std. error by about 0.581. The Subjective standard is the second-most significant factor with the coefficient std. error around -0.395 in contrast, Attitudinal factors present no impact on intention to DAwP. Conclusions: The provision of non-prescription is primarily influenced by the perception of the distributors and external factors. It is necessary to develop interventions to make community aware of misuse and misunderstanding of antibiotics. Keywords: pharmacy dispensers, dispensing antibiotics without prescription, community pharmacies. WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW • When a patient in Vietnam has a health problem, community pharmacies/drugstores come to mind first. Sadly, it is illegal for a PDs to DAwP to a patient who is seeking treatment. • The overuse of antibiotics in the community is spreading widely in our country, resulting in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which is an urgent issue and affects on the future of healthcare industry. WHAT THIS ARTICLE ADDS • This is one of the few research that evaluates the factors that influence to DAwP of Vietnamese pharmacists. To identify and clarify the attitudes and behavior that contribute to DAwP, a wide range of possibly connected elements are taken into account. • The results of the present study having been obtained some effective solutions in changing the habits of PDs. • The findings of our study form the basis for future similar investigations.