Cross-sectional study on the availability of essential medicines at public health facilities in Jur River County, South Sudan
Introduction: The availability of essential medicines in health facilities in Jur River County (JRC), South Sudan, is below expectations. This is despite the requirement that all citizens should be provided with adequate quality health care services. The objective of the study was to assess the avai...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Health and Social Sciences Research Institute - South Sudan (HSSRI-SS)
2023-05-01
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| Series: | South Sudan Medical Journal |
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| Online Access: | http://www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com/archive/may-2023/cross-sectional-study-on-the-availability-of-essential-medicines-at-public-health-facilities-in-jur-river-county-south-sudan.html |
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| author | Dhal T. Ajingdit Peter N. Karimi Kashi B. Carasso François Niragire |
| author_facet | Dhal T. Ajingdit Peter N. Karimi Kashi B. Carasso François Niragire |
| author_sort | Dhal T. Ajingdit |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: The availability of essential medicines in health facilities in Jur River County (JRC), South Sudan, is below expectations. This is despite the requirement that all citizens should be provided with adequate quality health care services. The objective of the study was to assess the availability of essential medicines and inventory management practices in JRC.
Method: This was a cross sectional study conducted in 31 of the 51 health facilities in JRC. These were 23 primary health care units (PHCUs) and eight primary health care centres (PHCCs). Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, logistics management information system (LMIS) data reports and checklist forms. All the completed checklists and questionnaires were analysed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20.0 and LMIS data was analysed using excel spreadsheet.
Results: The main findings were stockouts and overstocking of essential medicines, low skilled health workers (HWs) and ineffective rotation of medicines in the health facilities. From January – August 2021, the stockouts of essential medicines in PHCUs and PHCCs were 44% and 34% respectively, whereas the incidences of over stockings were 22% and 31% respectively. Almost all (97%) of the health facilities kept records of essential medicines, revealing stockouts of 90.3% on the day of the visit. Of the 31 HWs interviewed 23 (74.9%) were community health workers (CHWs), four (12.9%) nurses and four (12.9%) pharmacy technicians; most (87.1%) had attained secondary education.
Conclusion: The quantities of essential medicines were inadequate and able to cover only two months. The major reasons were inadequate supply of essential medicines; recruitment of CHWs and nurses, instead of pharmacy technicians in the management of supplies; ineffective rotation of medicines within and other health facilities. More research is needed on the factors affecting the availability of medicines at the health facilities in JRC. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:43:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-18024935fadd482897e80d37ac5f5ea1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2309-4605 2309-4613 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:43:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Health and Social Sciences Research Institute - South Sudan (HSSRI-SS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South Sudan Medical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-18024935fadd482897e80d37ac5f5ea12023-12-29T02:04:44ZengHealth and Social Sciences Research Institute - South Sudan (HSSRI-SS)South Sudan Medical Journal2309-46052309-46132023-05-011624549https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ssmj.v16i2.2Cross-sectional study on the availability of essential medicines at public health facilities in Jur River County, South SudanDhal T. Ajingdit 0Peter N. Karimi 1Kashi B. Carasso 2François Niragire3EAC Regional Center of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunization, and Health Supply Chain Management, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.EAC Regional Center of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunization, and Health Supply Chain Management, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.Department of Applied Statistics, College of Business and Economics, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.Introduction: The availability of essential medicines in health facilities in Jur River County (JRC), South Sudan, is below expectations. This is despite the requirement that all citizens should be provided with adequate quality health care services. The objective of the study was to assess the availability of essential medicines and inventory management practices in JRC. Method: This was a cross sectional study conducted in 31 of the 51 health facilities in JRC. These were 23 primary health care units (PHCUs) and eight primary health care centres (PHCCs). Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, logistics management information system (LMIS) data reports and checklist forms. All the completed checklists and questionnaires were analysed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20.0 and LMIS data was analysed using excel spreadsheet. Results: The main findings were stockouts and overstocking of essential medicines, low skilled health workers (HWs) and ineffective rotation of medicines in the health facilities. From January – August 2021, the stockouts of essential medicines in PHCUs and PHCCs were 44% and 34% respectively, whereas the incidences of over stockings were 22% and 31% respectively. Almost all (97%) of the health facilities kept records of essential medicines, revealing stockouts of 90.3% on the day of the visit. Of the 31 HWs interviewed 23 (74.9%) were community health workers (CHWs), four (12.9%) nurses and four (12.9%) pharmacy technicians; most (87.1%) had attained secondary education. Conclusion: The quantities of essential medicines were inadequate and able to cover only two months. The major reasons were inadequate supply of essential medicines; recruitment of CHWs and nurses, instead of pharmacy technicians in the management of supplies; ineffective rotation of medicines within and other health facilities. More research is needed on the factors affecting the availability of medicines at the health facilities in JRC.http://www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com/archive/may-2023/cross-sectional-study-on-the-availability-of-essential-medicines-at-public-health-facilities-in-jur-river-county-south-sudan.htmlessential medicineinventory managementstockoutoverstocksouth sudan |
| spellingShingle | Dhal T. Ajingdit Peter N. Karimi Kashi B. Carasso François Niragire Cross-sectional study on the availability of essential medicines at public health facilities in Jur River County, South Sudan South Sudan Medical Journal essential medicine inventory management stockout overstock south sudan |
| title | Cross-sectional study on the availability of essential medicines at public health facilities in Jur River County, South Sudan |
| title_full | Cross-sectional study on the availability of essential medicines at public health facilities in Jur River County, South Sudan |
| title_fullStr | Cross-sectional study on the availability of essential medicines at public health facilities in Jur River County, South Sudan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cross-sectional study on the availability of essential medicines at public health facilities in Jur River County, South Sudan |
| title_short | Cross-sectional study on the availability of essential medicines at public health facilities in Jur River County, South Sudan |
| title_sort | cross sectional study on the availability of essential medicines at public health facilities in jur river county south sudan |
| topic | essential medicine inventory management stockout overstock south sudan |
| url | http://www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com/archive/may-2023/cross-sectional-study-on-the-availability-of-essential-medicines-at-public-health-facilities-in-jur-river-county-south-sudan.html |
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