Publications

The inappropriate use of pharmaceuticals is a growing concern worldwide due to associated health risksand economic costs. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates over half of all medicines areprescribed, dispensed, or used irrationally. This study aimed to assess the prescribing and dispensingpractices in health facilities of Bushenyi District, Uganda, using WHO's core drug use indicators.Prescribing indicators like average number of drugs per encounter, percentage of drugs prescribed bygeneric name, encounters with antibiotics/injections prescribed, and drugs from essential lists wereaccessed. Patient care indicators like consultation time, dispensing time, drugs adequately labeled andpatients' dosage knowledge were evaluated. Facility indicators covered availability of essential drug lists,key drugs, qualified prescribers and dispensers. The cross-sectional study surveyed 20 health facilities. The20 health facilities surveyed in Bushenyi District included 3 hospitals, 1 health centre IV, 6 health centre IIIsand 10 health centre IIs. Data was collected retrospectively for 600 prescribing encounters andprospectively for 600 patient care encounters. The results showed a high average number of drugs perencounter (2.59), moderate generic prescribing (81.32%), high antibiotic use (46%), low injection use(8.83%), and high adherence to essential drug lists (95.83%). Short consultation (5.54 minutes) anddispensing times (61.47 seconds), inadequate labeling (48.03%), and suboptimal patient knowledge (91.5%)were observed. Essential drug list availability was high (95%), but key drug stocks (76.49%) and qualifiedstaff percentages were low (45% prescribers, 5% dispensers). The findings identified several shortfalls likeirrational prescribing patterns, poor patient care practices, and inadequate facilities that requireinterventions