ArticlePloS one2018
Prescription and non-prescription antibiotic dispensing practices in part I and part II pharmacies in Moshi Municipality, Kilimanjaro Region in Tanzania: A simulated clients approach.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 138 citations in OpenAlex.
- Non-prescription antibiotic dispensing in community pharmacies in LMICs: a systematic review of prevalence, drivers, and policy implications.BMC health services research · 2026Pooled it
- Drivers of inappropriate use of antibiotics among community members in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review of qualitative studies.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- No prescription? No problem: drivers of non-prescribed sale of antibiotics among community drug retail outlets in low and middle income countries: a systematic review of qualitative studies.BMC public health · 2021Pooled it
- Non-prescription dispensing of antibiotic agents among community drug retail outlets in Sub-Saharan African countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic review of antimicrobial stewardship practices and challenges in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) regulated retail medicine settings.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Review
- A point prevalence survey on antibiotic dispensing practices identifies targets for quality improvement of antimicrobial stewardship in community pharmacies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Article
- Formal and informal digital health in Tanzania: healthcare workforce, regulatory and trust implications of e-patients and virtual care and the development of the TRUST framework.Frontiers in health services · 2026Review
- Knowledge, attitudes and practices survey on antimicrobial resistance and stewardship among pharmacy healthcare workers in 28 African countries.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Deploying Metagenomics to Characterize Microbial Pathogens During Outbreak of Acute Febrile Illness Among Children in Tanzania.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Antibiotic prescription, dispensing and use in humans and livestock in East Africa: does morality have a role to play?Monash bioethics review · 2024Article
- Antimicrobial Use Among Outpatients at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Dodoma Central Zone of Tanzania: A Prospective Descriptive Study.Infectious diseases & clinical microbiology · 2024Article
- Surveillance of antibiotics use in inpatients at Benjamin Mkapa Zonal Referral Hospital in Dodoma, Tanzania: a point prevalence survey.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Inappropriate antibiotic access practices at the community level in Eastern Ethiopia.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The comparison of the quality of selected brands of antibiotics in Tanzania sourced from different geographical regions.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2024Article
- A Narrative Review of Recent Antibiotic Prescribing Practices in Ambulatory Care in Tanzania: Findings and Implications.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
- Antimicrobial stewardship in private pharmacies in Wakiso district, Uganda: a qualitative study.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2023Article
- Antibiotic dispensing practices during COVID-19 and implications for antimicrobial resistance (AMR): parallel mystery client studies in Uganda and Tanzania.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2023Article
- Article
- Usage and parental knowledge of antibiotics in children undergoing (adeno) tonsillectomy in northern Tanzania.The Pan African medical journal · 2023Article
- Assessment of Dispensing Malpractice in Community Drug Retail Outlets in South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia: A Simulated Patient Experience.Integrated pharmacy research & practice · 2023Article
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Antibiotic dispensing without a prescription poses a threat to public health as it leads to excessive antibiotic consumption. Inappropriate antibiotic availability to the community has been documented to be amongst drivers of antimicrobial resistance emergence. Community pharmacies are a source of antibiotics in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed at assessing antibiotic dispensing practices by community pharmacy retailers in Moshi urban, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania and recommend interventions to improve practice. Using a Simulated Client (SC) Method, an observational cross-sectional survey of antibiotic dispensing practices was conducted from 10th June to 10th July 2017. Data analysis was done using Stata 13 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA). A total of 82 pharmacies were visited. Part I pharmacies were 26 (31.71%) and 56 (68.29%) were part II. Overall 92.3% (95% CI 77.8-97.6) of retailers dispensed antibiotics without prescriptions. The antibiotics most commonly dispensed without a prescription were ampiclox for cough (3 encounters) and azithromycin for painful urination (3 encounters). An oral third generation cephalosporin (cefixime) was dispensed once for painful urination without prescription by a part I pharmacy retailer. Out of 21, 15(71.43%) prescriptions with incomplete doses were accepted and had antibiotics dispensed. Out of 68, 4(5.9%) retailers gave instructions for medicine use voluntarily. None of the retailers voluntarily explained drug side-effects. In Moshi pharmacies, a high proportion of antibiotics are sold and dispensed without prescriptions. Instructions for medicine use are rarely given and none of the retailers explain side effects. These findings support the need for a legislative enforcement of prescription-only antibiotic dispensing rules and regulations. Initiation of clinician and community antibiotic stewardship and educational programs on proper antibiotic use to both pharmacists and public by the regulatory bodies are highly needed.
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Registered trials
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