ArticleBMC public health2019
What is in the drug packet?: access and use of non-prescribed poly-pharmaceutical packs (Yaa Chud) in the community in Thailand.
Article in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions to reduce non-prescription antimicrobial sales in community pharmacies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence and associated factors of inappropriate analgesic drug use among community-dwelling older adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Self-medication and non-adherence to antibiotic prescription and associated factors among Myanmar migrants in Thailand: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- A rapid scoping review of antibiotic access and use barriers among refugee and migrant populations.Globalization and health · 2026Article
- Improvement in Unhealthy Behaviors Among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Receiving Integrated Care at Community Hospitals in Thailand.International journal of nephrology and renovascular disease · 2025Article
- Influences on use of antibiotics without prescription by the public in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and synthesis of qualitative evidence.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Review
- Embedding community and public voices in co-created solutions to mitigate antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Thailand using the 'Responsive Dialogues' public engagement framework.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Article
- A qualitative exploration of purchasing, stockpiling, and use of drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic in an urban city of Bangladesh.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Interventions to address antimicrobial resistance: an ethical analysis of key tensions and how they apply in low- income and middle-income countries.BMJ global health · 2024Review
- The unseen use of antimicrobials: Drivers of human antibiotic use in a community in Thailand and implications for surveillance.Global public health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and impacts of self-medication in a disadvantaged setting: the importance of multi-dimensional health interventions.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Community Health Nurses' Perspective on the Introduced Rational Drug Use Policy in Primary Care Settings in Thailand: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Article
- "Ya Luk Ka Tan Yoo": An Ethnography of Filial Piety Culture, Medication Usage, and Health Perceptions of the Elderly in Rural Southern Thailand.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- A Systematic Scoping Review on Migrant Health Coverage in Thailand.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Article
- Community-based antibiotic access and use in six low-income and middle-income countries: a mixed-method approach.The Lancet. Global health · 2021Article
- Precarity and clinical determinants of healthcare-seeking behaviour and antibiotic use in rural Laos and Thailand.BMJ global health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
background'Yaa Chud' is a non-prescribed poly-pharmaceutical pack containing several types of drugs, including antibiotics and steroids, which can be purchased over the counter in Thailand for self-medication. Although it is illegal, it is still available at some community outlets. This study aimed to understand access to and use of Yaa Chud at the community level in order to raise awareness on its usage and to provide policy recommendations to address the problem.
methodsThis study employed qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews with 18 drug suppliers and 16 community members, and six focus group discussions. It included inventories from 17 drug suppliers. Data were collected in selected communities of the Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance System, located in the western region of Thailand.Thematic analysis was based upon the Health Services Utilization Model and conducted using the Open Code qualitative software program.
resultsOvercrowding, long waiting times, and a perceived unwelcoming environment at public health-care service outlets were identified as factors that drive people into the private sector, where loose regulation of drug laws facilitates access and use of Yaa Chud. Migrants and older people were most likely to seek and use Yaa Chud, especially for mild illness. Availability, easy access through a user's network, low cost, and perceived effectiveness were identified as factors that enable access and use of Yaa Chud.
conclusionsThough illegal in Thailand, Yaa Chud is likely to remain available for self-medication by community members, due to the persisting demand by the elderly and migrant workers. There is an urgent need to replace these mixed medications with better choices. Safer Yaa Chud may be a preferred, first-line health-care option, which could help reduce congestion in the formal health-care setting. At the same time, enforcement of regulatory compliance needs to be continued in order to stop the supply of unsafe Yaa Chud.
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Registered trials
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.