Mwenesi Halima A.
Medical Research Centre, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54840, Nairobi, Kenya.
Afr J Health Sci. 1994 Feb;1(1):42-48.
Up to 80 % of illness episodes are first defined, diagnosed and treated at the household-level. In the developing world especially, approximately half the population has no access to public health services. It is obvious then that other sources of care will be used. We examined the availability of proprietary drugs in communities, and the extent and reasons for their use in the treatment of childhood malaria on the Kenyan Coast. Retail outlets are extensively used as the first tier of health care for illnesses considered to be mild or mundane. However, the wide range, types and formulations of over-the- counter (OTC) drugs including antimalarials available in these retail outlets constitute a major health hazard. Yet, both users and proprietors of retail outlets know little or nothing about the drugs and thus use or sell them inappropriately. Even, children are treated promptly by purchase of OTC drugs. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.
高达80%的疾病发作最初是在家庭层面得到界定、诊断和治疗的。尤其是在发展中世界，约有一半人口无法获得公共卫生服务。那么很明显，人们会利用其他医疗资源。我们调查了肯尼亚海岸社区中专利药的可得性，以及其用于治疗儿童疟疾的程度和原因。零售药店被广泛用作治疗被认为是轻症或常见疾病的初级医疗保健机构。然而，这些零售药店中种类繁多的非处方（OTC）药物，包括抗疟药，构成了重大的健康隐患。然而，零售药店的使用者和经营者对这些药物知之甚少或一无所知，因此会不恰当地使用或销售这些药物。甚至，儿童也通过购买非处方药物得到快速治疗。本文讨论了这些研究结果的政策含义。
