ArticleGlobal health, science and practice2023
Can a Smartphone Application Help Address Barriers to Reporting Substandard/Falsified Medical Products? A Pilot Study in Tanzania and Indonesia.
Article in Global health, science and practice, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices and demand-side interventions for combating substandard and falsified medicines: a scoping review.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2025Review
- A randomised survey of the quality of antibiotics and other essential medicines in Indonesia, with volume-adjusted estimates of the prevalence of substandard medicines.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionReporting is an essential component of efforts to combat the distribution and circulation of substandard and falsified (SF) medical products worldwide. However, little is known about why health care professionals (HCPs) do not report suspect products to the national medicine regulatory authority (NMRA) and what measures might address this. This pilot study aimed to assess the utility of a smartphone application for reporting SF medical products in Tanzania and Indonesia.
methodsAt baseline, in 2017, HCPs completed a survey describing perceived barriers to reporting and received training in the identification of SF products and received use of the smartphone reporting application (N=309). The application reporting system was piloted for 6 months. Evaluations took place with HCPs and NMRA staff at the midpoint and endline of the pilot study (2018).
resultsAt baseline, HCPs surveyed (n=254) identified the following key barriers to reporting: difficulties identifying SF products, frustrations with existing reporting systems, and fears that reporting may have personal or reputational repercussions. During the pilot period, HCPs submitted a total of 36 reports of 27 products to the NMRAs in their respective countries; of these, 8 products were determined to be SF and 2 were unregistered. In all 10 cases, appropriate regulatory action was taken. Feedback from HCPs and NMRA staff was positive in both countries, suggesting that the application addressed several barriers to reporting as it was convenient and, importantly, opened a line of communication between HCPs and the NMRA. However, the application did not address all barriers to reporting, such as concerns of repercussions.
conclusionThe findings suggest that this smartphone application may be useful for improving HCPs' reporting of suspected SF products. Developing and piloting similar reporting applications in other countries and contexts is required.
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