School of Health Sciences (Health-Sciences)

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https://dissertations.mak.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12281/3

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Browsing School of Health Sciences (Health-Sciences) by Author "Akampulira, Brenda"
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    Prevalence, perceptions and factors influencing use of online pharmacy services among staff and resident students at Makerere University
    (Makerere University, 2024) Masereka, Alex ; Akampulira, Brenda ; Ssuuna, Derick
    Background: The use of online platforms (e.g. phone calls, SMS, websites) to provide pharmaceutical products and services has significantly increased over the past decade in Uganda. This practice took a center stage during the COVID-19 pandemic where movements were restricted making it an integral portal for health care provision. A study done in Uganda on the extent of provision and regulation of online pharmacy services found that there are no regulations currently on this practice. This makes these services not streamlined therefore limiting the full harnessing of potential benefits by the public. Aim: This study aimed to determine and document the prevalence of use, perceptions and factors influencing resident students and staff of Makerere University to utilize online pharmacy services. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study design in which the Kish Leslie formula was used to determine the sample population of staff and resident students. Proportionate sampling was also done on the student population to get the number of respondents to be sampled in each hall of residence. The staff were selected by convenience sampling. A physical questionnaire was used to collect data. The data was analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages while P-values were used to evaluate association between independent variables and the dependent variables. Results: In total, 241 resident students and 144 staff participated in the study. The findings revealed a moderate adoption of online pharmacy services, with 36.1% of respondents having previously purchased medicines online. Awareness of online pharmacy services was high (86.8%), but did not translate to frequent use. Respondents perceived online pharmacy services as safe and reliable (80.3%), but concerns about quality of care (45.6%), trust (42.1%), and lack of counselling (40.8%) were raised. Demographic characteristics such as age (p=0.035), education level (p=0.029) and online shopping behavior (p <0.001) significantly affect the use of online pharmacy services. Respondents > 35 years of age, those with a high level of education and those who generally shopped online where more likely to purchase medicines online. Gender and occupation had no significant association with using online pharmacy services. Based on the results, the significant factors that influence use of online pharmacy services included; Low cost of delivery (OR=1.967, 95% CI: 1.220, 3.171, P=0.006), ease of ordering medicines (OR=2.678, p=0.005), and having a permanent condition that limits their ability to visit a regular pharmacy (OR=1.156, p=0.045).