ArticleAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2026
Medicines governance and systemic constraints: A qualitative study among healthcare professionals in South Africa.
Article in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedicine shortages and governance failures in low- and middle-income countries continue to hinder progress towards universal health coverage.
aimTo explore healthcare professionals' perceptions and experiences of medicines governance in South African healthcare facilities.
settingThe study was conducted at the public healthcare sectors in Eastern Cape province, South Africa.
methodsA qualitative exploratory cross-sectional design was used. Twenty healthcare professionals were purposively selected. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed using Braun and Clarke's framework.
resultsFour major themes emerged: systemic governance constraints; pharmaceutical supply chain vulnerabilities; weak accountability mechanisms; and gaps in protocol implementation. Key determinants of medicine shortages included weak budget governance, supplier payment delays, limited pharmacy support staff and inconsistent implementation of standard treatment guidelines (STG) and limited functionality of Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees (PTCs).
conclusionMedicine shortages result from systemic governance failures rather than isolated logistical issues. Strengthening pharmaceutical governance requires transparent budgeting, timely supplier payment systems, functional PTCs, and STG training to improve equitable access to essential medicines.Contribution: This study deepens the understanding of pharmaceutical governance, revealing systemic, interrelated factors that collectively lead to the shortage of pharmaceuticals in South Africa. Unlike previous research that focused primarily on supply chain logistics, the study showed that stock-outs were rooted not simply in operational inefficiency, but also in structural governance weaknesses. This study presents practical insights to strengthen pharmaceutical governance and supports national efforts to achieve universal health coverage by identifying specific governance obstacles and proposing system-level reforms.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.