Generic medicines are clinically equivalent and can be used interchangeably for their intended use. Globally, the usage of generic medicines is highly recommended because of their affordability and accessibility. However, consumers hold a negative perception and attitude of using generic medicine as they consider it poor and having inferior quality compared to branded medicines. This study was conducted to assess the consumers’ general view of generic medicines and in vitro evaluation of a locally produced generic medicine, paracetamol. An analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted in three selected hospitals, and in vitro quality control evaluation was done in National Drug Quality Control Laboratory between October 26 and November 21, 2017, in Asmara, Eritrea. A systematic random sampling design was employed, and the data was collected using a questionnaire and a check-list for recording the quality control parameters of paracetamol tablets. A total of 403 respondents were included in the study. The majority of the study participants were females (61.8%). Generally, about half (49.1%) of the respondents choose locally manufactured paracetamol over the imported ones. More than half (68.5%) of the respondents did not believe expensive medicines are of better quality. The main reason consumers prefer the local paracetamol (Azemol) tablet to the imported one was due to their good experience (62.1%). About three-fourths (78.1%) of the consumers also believed that medicines manufactured abroad confer higher quality. At the multivariate level, having educational backgrounds such as elementary ( AOR = 4.19 , 95% CI: 1.251, 14.035) and junior ( AOR = 2.4 , 95% CI: 1.146, 5.028) was associated with preferability to local paracetamol as a pain killer over the brand ones. The in vitro test of the local paracetamol met the standard specification for the identification test, weight variation test, pharmacopeial test, friability test, disintegration test, and dissolution test. In conclusion, the majority of the consumers considered local paracetamol as having an inferior quality when compared with brand paracetamol. However, the reality revealed that the local paracetamol was of the same quality as the brand ones. To facilitate widespread use of generic medicines, healthcare professionals should educate consumers on the advantages of these medicines.

Objective. Satisfaction of mothers during caesarean section is an important indicator for measuring quality of obstetric anesthesia. This study aimed to determine mothers’ level of satisfaction and the predicting factors of dissatisfaction towards spinal anesthesia during caesarean section. Methods. Cross-sectional study design was utilized in Orotta Maternity Hospital (OMH) and Sembel Hospital from December 2017 to February 2018, in Asmara, Eritrea. Satisfaction of the mothers was measured using a pretested questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were utilized to identify predictors of dissatisfaction using SPSS (Version 22.0). Results. Involvement of mothers in the choice of anesthesia (3.3%) and explanation about the stay at operating theater (10%) were the two least reported items. As per the subscale analysis, the lowest satisfaction was observed for the preoperative assessment (16.7%). Overall, 87.9% of the mothers were satisfied with the spinal anesthetic service. Hospital at which anesthesia was administered (p<0.001), marital status (p<0.001), and intraoperative pain (p<0.001) were significant predictors of dissatisfaction towards spinal anesthesia. Moreover, the rate of refusal to have spinal anesthesia in the future was 12.5%. Conclusion. Though overall satisfaction can be considered as fair, preoperative assessment is considerably low. Hence, explaining the benefits and risks of the anesthetic techniques as well as considering patient’s opinion is very important while deciding the type of anesthesia.

No abstract

No abstract