Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29300350›Full record

ArticlePharmacy (Basel, Switzerland)2018

Exploring the Knowledge and Perception of Generic Medicines among Final Year Undergraduate Medical, Pharmacy, and Nursing Students in Sierra Leone: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Approach.

Peter Bai James, Abdulai Jawo Bah, Emmanuel Kamanda Margao, Christian Hanson, John Alimamy Kabba, Shazia Qasim Jamshed

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Peter Bai JamesFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone. jamepeb@yahoo.com.ORCID 0000-0002-6373-5704
Abdulai Jawo BahFaculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone. abdulaijawobah@yahoo.com.
Emmanuel Kamanda MargaoFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone. emmiks@yahoo.co.uk.
Christian HansonPharmacy Board of Sierra Leone, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, New England Ville Freetown, Freetown, Sierra Leone. chrisson2001@yahoo.com.
John Alimamy KabbaDepartment of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, Center for Drug Safety and Policy Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China. fudimamy@yahoo.com.ORCID 0000-0002-7327-2715
Shazia Qasim JamshedDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan 25200, Malaysia. shazia_jamshed@iium.edu.my.ORCID 0000-0003-0773-0463

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Most low-income nations have national medicine policy that emphasized the use of generic medicines in the public health sector. However, the use of generics is often debatable as there are concerns over its efficacy, quality, and safety compared to their branded counterparts. This study was conducted to compare the knowledge and perception of generic medicines among final year undergraduate medical, pharmacy, and nursing students in Sierra Leone. We conducted a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study among these students at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences University of Sierra Leone. Out of the 62 students, only two (2/62, 3.2%) knew about the acceptable bioequivalence limit. At least half of respondents in all three groups agreed that all generics are therapeutically equivalent to their innovator brand. At least half of the medicine (21/42, 50%) and nursing (6/9, 66.6%) students, compared to pharmacy students (5/11, 45.5%), believed that higher safety standards are required for proprietary medicines than for generic medicines. Most of them agreed that they need more information on the safety, quality, and efficacy aspects of generics (59/62, 95.2%). All three groups of healthcare students, despite variations in their responses, demonstrated a deficiency in knowledge and misconception regarding generic medicines. Training on issues surrounding generic drugs in healthcare training institutions is highly needed among future healthcare providers in Sierra Leone.

Indexed as

generic medicinesknowledgemedical studentsnursing studentsperceptionpharmacy studentsSierra Leone

Identifiers

PMID29300350
PMCPMC5874542

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.