Objectives To assess the measurement invariance quality of a short-item employee work assessment questionnaire across key subgroups of pharmaceutical executives. Methods A cross-sectional study with data collected using a nine-item structured questionnaire randomly administered to 406 pharmaceutical executives in Nigeria. Structural equation modelling using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 24, and criteria for invariance were absolute change in goodness-of-fit criteria and chi-square test at P < 0.05. Key findings Results showed gender [men (n = 293, 72%), women (n = 113, 28%)], [pharmacist (n = 117, 28.8%, non-pharmacist (n = 289, 71.2%)], company type [indigenous (n = 249, 61%), multinational (n = 157, 39%)], and industry experience [low experience; ≤10 years (n = 363, 89%), high experience: ≥10 years (n = 43, 11%)]. Model-fit and construct validity of the instrument were satisfactory. Configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance of the instrument were confirmed across gender, professional training, and experience levels. Only configural and metric invariance were attained for company type. Conclusions The developed questionnaire is adequate for assessing pharmacy workforce perception across multiple demographic groups. Invariance testing and reporting are beneficial in social, administrative, and behavioural pharmacy research.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of marketing-mix concepts on the purchasing engagements of community pharmacists with supply channels in low and middle-income settings. Secondly, to use an Impact scale to measure the dominant marketing-mix factors that influence procurement decision-making practices. Methods: A descriptive study that used self-administered questionnaires, distributed to community pharmacists from March to May 2021 in Southwestern, Nigeria. A mixed-method sampling technique was adopted. Ethical approval was given by the Ministry of health (HPRS/381/371). Study outcomes were compared against measures of the Impact scale. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used to test the study hypotheses using SPSS-25. Significance was set at p<0.05 Results: The response rate was 79.6% representing 398 community pharmacists. Age of community pharmacists had significant association with price-sensitivity (p<0.01). Community pharmacists with more employees tended to be price-sensitive (p=0.003). Promotion variable had the highest influence (Mean score=2.73, SD=0.43, Impact-level=moderate), followed by Price (Mean score=2.65, SD=0.34, Impact-level=moderate), Place (Mean score=2.61, SD=0.51, Impact-level=moderate), Perception (Mean score=2.48, SD=0.42, Impact-level=low), and the least impactful was Product (Mean score=2.46, SD=0.41, Impact level=low). The study revealed an overall low-to-moderate involvement (Mean score=2.59, SD=0.42) and influence of marketing-mix on the level of engagement of community pharmacists with supply channels. Conclusion: Findings suggest a shift of focus away from product-based considerations. Therefore, the study recommends a more balanced decision approach using an Impact rating scale. Improved focus on key priorities that can positively impact quality pharmaceutical care to the patient is advocated.

There is limited evidence to show how pharmaceutical managers are profiled based on managerial roles: operational, product, and strategic management level, using clustering and multivariate analyses. The constructs evaluated were:self-efficacy (SE), reward-structure (RS), policy-involvement (PE), task-environment (TE), communication-engagement (CE), and perceived organizational performance (OP). Study objectives were to investigate the profile of pharmaceutical managers based on functional roles and task constructs influencing their performance. Secondly, to assess the influence of SE, TE, PE, CE, and RS on OP of pharmaceutical managers. A literature-guided questionnaire cross-sectional study was administered by stratified random sampling to 241 managers involved in pharmaceutical marketing in Nigeria. Multivariate analyses were used to examine relationships between variables. Two-step Cluster analysis was used to explore the distinct structure of constructs. Kruskal Wallis test compared cluster groups at p≤.05. Associations existed between demographic attributes and managerial roles except for gender (p=0.085), and qualification as pharmacist or non-pharmacist (p=0.124). The regression model showed that SE, TE, and PE were significant predictors of OP. CS and RS had no significant influence on OP. Significant positive relationships were found between six constructs. Three clusters were computed with an overall median cluster score of 24.13. Strategic managers formed the dominant cluster 1 (mean=24.39) with comparatively higher value of PE than Clusters 2 (product managers) and 3 (operational managers). Higher performance scores were related to higher levels of perceived self-efficacy among managers. The study recommends need-specific interventions to address role-specific challenges affecting managers. Adopting improved communication and reward systems to improve overall performance is recommended.

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In low-and middle-income countries, patients’ access to affordable medicines is a perennial challenge at all levels of healthcare delivery. Community pharmacists are expected to bridge the supply and demand gap. Unlike the plethora of studies done at the hospital and government institutions level, there is a paucity of empirical evidence on the factors influencing medicine procurement decisions from supply channels at the community pharmacy level. The study aimed to investigate the influence of community pharmacists’ professional and entrepreneurial considerations on their decision-to-procure from medicine suppliers. A cross-sectional survey which adopted a self-administered questionnaire approach to obtain primary data from randomly sampled respondents (N=398) from three purposively selected states in southwestern, Nigeria. Structural equation modeling (SEM) methodology was used to test the hypothesized model at p<0.05. The study revealed acceptable model fit and validity measures for measurement and structural models. Cost and profitability factors were significant predictors of decision-to-procure compared to service and product quality factors among respondents [β=0.343, p=0.001 vs. β=0.044, p=0.606]. Product selection had a positive moderating effect on cost and profitability factors [t=1.980, p=0.048] and a negative directional effect on service and product quality factors in the hypothesized model [t=-2.960, p=0.003]. Community pharmacists should balance financial considerations with a professional focus to ensure patients’ access to quality and affordable medicines. Study outcomes suggest the development and implementation of universally acceptable guidelines on medicine procurement in community pharmacy settings in low-and middle-income countries. The study validated the SEM model for evaluating priorities influencing community pharmacists’ buying decisions. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use the SEM framework to explore factors informing drug procurement decisions from the community pharmacists’ perspective in low-and middle-income countries.