Management of Childhood Acute Respiratory Infections at Private Pharmacies in Vietnam

Abstract

Dispensing of antibiotics for mild ARI was common practice among private pharmacies, and there was a significant difference between knowledge and practice. Interventions are needed to improve pharmacy practice in Hanoi.

Over-the-counter sales of antibiotics from community pharmacies in Abu Dhabi

“…Our results indicate that for this particular issue, the regulatory framework of the UAE is not effectively enforced. Antibiotic availability over-the-counter has been reported in many countries in Asia [9,[11][12][13][14][15], Africa [24,25], the Middle East [16,17,26,27], Latin America [18,28,29], Southern and Eastern Europe [19,[30][31][32][33], and America [20,21,34]. The high level of over-the-counter antibiotic sales is certainly not unique to the UAE.…”

“…Clients' nationalities were identified from both their spoken dialects and attire, and then grouped into larger ethnicity groups: UAE nationals, Arab, Asian and other. Clients' age was obtained from prescriptions where presented otherwise estimated, then grouped into infants (0-2), toddlers (3)(4)(5), children (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12), teenagers (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), adults ([20) and elders ([65).…”

“…Antibiotics, typically prescription only medicines, can be purchased over-the-counter from various drug outlets and private pharmacies in a range of countries around the world [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Antibiotics are classified as prescription medicines in the UAE and legally according to the UAE Medicine Regulations require a prescription to be dispensed.…”

The quality of private pharmacy services in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review

“…Two studies (Uganda [48] and Vietnam [49]) assessed the knowledge and practices of staff in pharmacies and drug stores when advising on symptoms of ARI in children. Data on knowledge and self-reported practices were gathered in questionnaires, although in the latter study this was combined with visits by simulated clients.…”

“…staff did not ask questions as they claimed and 20% said they would supply an antibiotic, but in practice 83% did so. Staff also did not ask questions of clients as they reported in the questionnaires [49].…”