Department of Pharmacy, Dessie Health Science College, Dessie, Ethiopia.
Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jan 7;21(1):65. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-10063-2.
Prescription drugs constitute the primary source of revenue for the pharmaceutical industry. Most pharmaceutical companies commit a great deal of time and money to market in hopes of convincing physicians about their products. The objective of this study is to assess perceived influence of pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies on physicians' prescribing behaviors in hospitals, Dessie, Ethiopia.
Mixed methods sequential explanatory design was employed in two public and three private hospitals. A cross-sectional study design was employed by including (136) physicians working in public and private hospitals. Percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple linear regressions were computed using Statistical Package for Social Science. In the second phase, the phenomenological design was employed to fully explore in-depth information. Purposive sampling was used to select key informants and 14 in-depth interviews were conducted by the principal investigator. Content analysis was performed using Nvivo 11 plus and interpretation by narrative strategies.
The overall perceived influence of pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies in physicians' prescribing behavior was 55.9%. The influence of promotion, product, place and price strategy perceived by physicians in their prescribing behavior was 83 (61%), 71(52.2%), 71 (52.2%), 80 (58.8%) respectively. There was a statistically significant difference among marketing mix strategies (β = 0.08, p = < 0.001). Determinants on the influence of physicians' prescribing behavior were specialty (p = 0.01) and working areas (p = 0.04). The qualitative design also generates additional insights into the influence of pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies on physician prescribing behavior.
More than half of physicians perceived that pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies influence their prescribing behavior. The qualitative design also revealed that pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies influenced physicians prescribing behavior. Strengthening the regulation and maintaining ethical practice would help to rationalize the physicians' prescribing practice.
处方药是制药业的主要收入来源。大多数制药公司投入大量的时间和资金进行营销，希望能让医生了解他们的产品。本研究旨在评估制药营销组合策略对埃塞俄比亚德西医院医生处方行为的影响。
采用混合方法顺序解释设计，在两家公立和三家私立医院进行。采用横断面研究设计，包括在公立和私立医院工作的 136 名医生。使用社会科学统计软件包计算百分比、平均值、标准差和多元线性回归。在第二阶段，采用现象学设计来充分探索深入信息。采用目的抽样选择关键信息提供者，并由主要研究者进行 14 次深入访谈。使用 Nvivo 11 plus 进行内容分析，并通过叙述策略进行解释。
医生对制药营销组合策略在处方行为中的总体感知影响为 55.9%。医生在处方行为中感知到的促销、产品、地点和价格策略的影响分别为 83（61%）、71（52.2%）、71（52.2%）和 80（58.8%）。营销组合策略之间存在统计学显著差异（β=0.08，p<0.001）。影响医生处方行为的决定因素是专业（p=0.01）和工作领域（p=0.04）。定性设计也进一步揭示了制药营销组合策略对医生处方行为的影响。
超过一半的医生认为制药营销组合策略影响他们的处方行为。定性设计还揭示了制药营销组合策略影响了医生的处方行为。加强监管和保持职业道德实践将有助于合理规范医生的处方行为。
