Utilização de genéricos em área de atuação da equipe de Saúde da Família em município do sul do Brasil

Abstract

The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of generics and their associated factors in a population of adults aged 20 to 59 years. The sample consisted of 374 individuals from the catchment area of a Family Health Unit in Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil. Data were collected in home interviews. Study variables were divided into 3 groups: sociodemographic, health status and the use of health services. The chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. The prevalence of generics was 9.9%. Of those interviewed, 96.5% claimed to know about generic drugs, 64.3% believed they had the same quality as brand-name drugs and 88.9% reported they were cheaper. The most commonly-used groups of drugs were those for the nervous system and those for the cardiovascular system. After univariate analysis, the following factors were found to be statistically significant: economic status, employment status, health insurance, presence of chronic disease, medical consultation in the previous three months and hospitalization within the previous 12 months. The low prevalence of the use of generic drugs emphasizes the fact that stronger policies are needed to make generics available to the public, especially through the Family Health Strategy, since it is the studied population's principal form of access to these medications.

Perception of the value of generic drugs in São Paulo, Brazil

“…In pharmacies in Oslo, some of 22 patients who had already made use of antihypertensive generic and brand name drugs mentioned experiencing more side effects and weaker effects upon drug substitution 24 . In two studies conducted in Southern Brazil (2002 and 2011), it was observed that 70% of 3,182 respondents and 64.3% of 374 respondents considered the quality of generic drug products to be similar to brand name drug 16,25 .…”

“…Shank et al 15 found that 29.9% of 1,047 insured beneficiaries surveyed in the United States believed that brand name drugs were more effective than generic drugs. In Southern Brazil, 33.8% of 374 interviewed adults in 2011 considered generic drugs to be products of lesser quality or did not know they existed 16 .…”

Percepção, conhecimento e uso de medicamentos genéricos no Sul do Brasil: o que mudou entre 2002 e 2012?

“…Estudos sobre utilização de medicamentos genéricos realizados na região Sul do Brasil encontraram prevalências de 3,6% na cidade de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul (2002) 5 , 9,9% em Ponta Grossa, Paraná (2007) 6 e 14% em Tubarão, Santa Catarina (2007) 7 .…”

“…Em estudos realizados no Brasil, a proporção daqueles que demonstraram ter conhecimento sobre medicamentos genéricos variou de 42 a 96% da população. Na maioria desses estudos, o conhecimento foi avaliado pela identificação de características das embalagens ou informações relacionadas ao preço e à qualidade desses medicamentos 5,6,7,9 .…”

The New Political Economy of Pharmaceuticals

“…The Ministry was successful in fulfilling this task. A number of studies conducted by ANVISA in the early 2000s indicated a majority of the Brazilian population were aware of the existence of the generics category; recent studies confirm widespread awareness of generics as an option (Blatt et al, 2012;Vosgerau et al, 2011). In a period of a few short years Brazil had crafted a generics sector that provided quality standards for its citizens and a well-regulated market in which domestic firms could compete.…”