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Several reports have shown that there has been a global increase in the practice of self-medication. Although it offers various benefits, it can also have negative effects on the patients. The quality of self-medication services provided by pharmacists has been reported to be a key factor affecting the outcome of this practice. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the quality of self-medication services in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia as well as its influential factors using a mystery customer approach. The mystery customers acted as patients seeking self-medication drugs at 232 pharmacies selected through stratified random sampling. The quality of the services provided was measured based on four subdomains, including patient assessment, the accuracy of drug selection, the drug information provided, and lifestyle modification counseling. The result showed that patient assessment regarding signs and symptoms was only performed by 42.82% of pharmacies in Bandung. Furthermore, 14.44% assessed pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapy before the visit, and only 10.56% evaluated specific medical conditions. Although the percentage of patient assessments performed was low, the accuracy of drug selection was relatively high at 85.34%. The most commonly provided information was the instruction on medication consumption (59.09%), while the least was on side effects (5.17%). The results also showed that information on lifestyle modification was only delivered by 10.34% of pharmacies. The quality of self-medication services varied based on the type of pharmacy and service provider. State-owned pharmacies had a higher overall score for quality compared to the retail and private standalone (p<0.05). Based on the service providers, pharmacists had a higher score compared to technicians and other personnel (p<0.05). These results emphasize the critical role of pharmacists in providing quality self-medication services to ensure rational and safe treatment for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncontrolled asthma may be life-threatening. Poor understanding of disease process and appropriate medication use appears to influence community attitude in facing asthmatic patients in an emergency, thereby contributing to increasing the risk of mortality. This study aimed to analyze community-level knowledge about asthma and attitude towards asthma management. This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted among the community in Gresik, Indonesia, from March to July 2019. Participants included in this study were adults, who could read, write, and communicate well. Data were collected through questionnaires to evaluate the level of knowledge and attitude towards asthma. In total, 100 respondents were selected with 91% of women, with a mean age of 49.11 ± 14.42 years and with various levels of education. The respondents had good knowledge by getting a score of 76%. Knowledge regarding recognition of asthma symptoms was scored the highest (83%). However, knowledge about medication use for asthma was lacking, especially in identifying the medicine choice (21%) and inhaler use (48%). The respondents also showed a 'positive' attitude with a score of 89%. Most respondents (72%) agreed that when inhaled drugs were unable to relieve the asthma attack, they need to bring the patient to a hospital. The level of respondent's knowledge in recognizing asthma symptoms was good, but there were misconceptions about asthma medication, especially in inhaler use. Overall, the respondents had a positive attitude towards asthma perception and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Most drug development policies in developing countries are enacted without achieving the desired results. This study aims to determine the prioritization of drug development in Indonesia through the evidence-based policymaking process in order to close the distance between stated policy goals and the realization of planned goals. Methods: A quantitative approach in the form of cross-sectional research using a structured survey was adopted and validated using a set of techniques involved in the calculation of a structural equation model. An independent samples t-test was used to test the significance of the differences between two views: pharmaceutical industries and the government of Indonesia. Findings: The study reveals that pharmaceutical industries and governments were highly consistent in their perceived challenges in facing the drug development. It also reveals drivers and weaknesses of drug development, including market opportunities, push-pull-regulatory pull factors and regulation, as priorities for improvement. Conclusions: Gap analysis based on a structural model was borne out to address gap challenges between policy and its implementation, with the use of evidence-based policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) approaches its 2020 goal, an increasing number of districts will enter the endgame phase where drug coverage rates from mass drug administration (MDA) are used to assess whether MDA can be stopped. As reported, the gap between reported and actual drug coverage in some contexts has overestimated the true rates, thus causing premature administration of transmission assessment surveys (TAS) that detect ongoing LF transmission. In these cases, districts must continue with additional rounds of MDA. Two districts in Indonesia (Agam District, Depok City) fit this criteria—one had not met the pre-TAS criteria and the other, had not passed the TAS criteria. In both cases, the district health teams needed insight into their drug delivery programs in order to improve drug coverage in the subsequent MDA rounds. Methodology/Principal Findings: To inform the subsequent MDA round, a micronarrative survey tool was developed to capture community members’ experience with MDA and the social realm where drug delivery and compliance occur. A baseline survey was implemented after the 2013 MDA in endemic communities in both districts using the EPI sampling criteria (n = 806). Compliance in the last MDA was associated with perceived importance of the LF drugs for health (p<0.001); perceived safety of the LF drugs (p<0.001) and knowing someone in the household has complied (p<0.001). Results indicated that specialized messages were needed to reach women and younger men. Both districts used these recommendations to implement changes to their MDA without additional financial support. An endline survey was performed after the 2014 MDA using the same sampling criteria (n = 811). Reported compliance in the last MDA improved in both districts from 57% to 77% (p<0.05). Those who reported having ever taken the LF drug rose from 79% to 90% (p<0.001) in both sites. Conclusions/Significance: Micronarrative surveys were shown to be a valid and effective tool to detect operational issues within MDA programs. District health staff felt ownership of the results, implementing feasible changes to their programs that resulted in significant improvements to coverage and compliance in the subsequent MDA. This kind of implementation research using a micronarrative survey tool could benefit underperforming MDA programs as well as other disease control programs where a deeper understanding is needed to improve healthcare delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]