ArticleSouth African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care2021
Alternative mechanisms for delivery of medication in South Africa: A scoping review.
Article in South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Social, Behavioral, and Ethical Modalities of COVID-19 on HIV Care in South Africa: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Contexts and Mechanisms Related to the Efficacy of Digital Medication Adherence Interventions to Support Medication Adherence Among Adults With Chronic Diseases: Realist Review.Interactive journal of medical research · 2026Review
- Point-of-care HIV viral load testing in a community antiretroviral therapy delivery programme: A randomised controlled trial (PHILA).PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Implementing telemedicine for medical abortion within the public health system: a qualitative study on implementation bottlenecks and solutions in South Africa.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Infrastructure-health nexus in Brazil: a scoping review.Global health research and policy · 2025Article
- Costs of home-delivered antiretroviral therapy refills for persons living with HIV: evidence from a pilot randomized controlled trial in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Implementing active surveillance for TB: A descriptive survey of healthcare workers in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Costs of home-delivered antiretroviral therapy refills for persons living with HIV: Evidence from a pilot randomized controlled trial in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- "Youth are experts in what they need": experiences and best practice in co-designing and implementing Fast-PrEP, a novel PrEP service for adolescents and youth in Cape Town, South Africa.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Acceptability of smart locker technology for dispensing chronic disease medication among patients and healthcare providers in Nigeria.PloS one · 2024Article
- Application of Internet hospitals for first-visit patients with COVID-19 during the pandemic in China.European journal of public health · 2023Article
- Understanding health outcome drivers among adherence club patients in clinics of Gauteng, South Africa: a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach.AIDS research and therapy · 2023Article
- Implementation of the Automated Medication Dispensing System-Early Lessons From Eswatini.International journal of public health · 2023Article
- Implementing active surveillance for tuberculosis: The experiences of healthcare workers at four sites in two provinces in South Africa.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2022Article
- Roles, Barriers, and Recommendations for Community Health Workers Providing Community-Based HIV Care in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review.AIDS patient care and STDs · 2022Review
- Evaluating the implementation of home delivery of medication by community health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa: a convergent mixed methods study.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Artificial intelligence-based internet hospital pharmacy services in China: Perspective based on a case study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Risk Factors for Poor Outcomes Among Patients with Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB): A Scoping Review.Infection and drug resistance · 2021Article
- Social Determinants Influencing Access to Home Delivery of Medication During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Cape Town Residents Living With Type 2 Diabetes.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe number of people in South Africa with chronic conditions is a challenge to the health system. In response to the coronavirus infection, health services in Cape Town introduced home delivery of medication by community health workers. In planning for the future, they requested a scoping review of alternative mechanisms for delivery of medication to patients in primary health care in South Africa.
methodsDatabases were systematically searched using a comprehensive search strategy to identify studies from the last 10 years. A methodological guideline for conducting scoping reviews was followed. A standardised template was used to extract data and compare study characteristics and findings. Data was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively.
resultsA total of 4253 publications were identified and 26 included. Most publications were from the last 5 years (n = 21), research (n = 24), Western Cape (n = 15) and focused on adherence clubs (n = 17), alternative pick-up-points (n = 14), home delivery (n = 5) and HIV (n = 17). The majority of alternative mechanisms were supported by a centralised dispensing and packaging system. New technology such as smart lockers and automated pharmacy dispensing units have been piloted. Patients benefited from these alternatives and had improved adherence. Available evidence suggests alternative mechanisms were cheaper and more beneficial than attending the facility to collect medication.
conclusionA mix of options tailored to the local context and patient choice that can be adequately managed by the system would be ideal. More economic evaluations are required of the alternatives, particularly before going to scale and for newer technology.
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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.