Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Health and Allied Sciences, Pokhara University, Pokhara, Nepal.
Janamaitri Foundation Institute of Health Sciences (JFIHS), Hattiban, Lalitpur, Nepal.
PLoS One. 2021 Jan 13;16(1):e0244969. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244969. eCollection 2021.
Medical abortion (MA) refers to the use of medicines to terminate the pregnancy. There is an urgent need to spread safe abortion services in the community. This study assessed the MA kit dispensing practices of community pharmacies in Pokhara Valley, Nepal.
A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Pokhara Valley, Nepal from December 2017 to November 2018. Among the community pharmacies of Pokhara Valley, 115 community pharmacies were selected using a consecutive sampling method. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. MA kit and related information were requested by simulated male clients visiting the community pharmacies. The information obtained from the pharmacy workers was recorded in the data collection sheet.
Nine brands of MA kit from eight manufacturing companies were found in practice in Pokhara Valley, out of those only five (56%) were registered in Nepal. Seven brands were sold at more than the labeled price. The pharmacy workers asked about the gestational age and confirmation of pregnancy in all the cases. Most of them counseled the clients on the frequency, duration, and direction of use. Dispensing practice and level of counseling were found to be significantly correlated (r = 0.40, p value = 0.01).
Despite the awareness of the pharmacy workers on the MA kit, most of them provided limited information to the clients. Nearly half unregistered MA kits were found in practice at the community pharmacies. Thus, the Department of Drugs Administration and other concerned authorities must provide relevant training and awareness programs to the pharmacy workers of the community pharmacies for preventing the malpractice of MA kit. The Government of Nepal must restrict the illegal entry of unregistered brands and assure the standards of MA kit by regulating drug acts and policies effectively.
药物流产（MA）是指使用药物终止妊娠。在社区中推广安全的堕胎服务迫在眉睫。本研究评估了尼泊尔博克拉谷社区药房的 MA 试剂盒配药情况。
本研究采用横断面描述性研究方法，于 2017 年 12 月至 2018 年 11 月在尼泊尔博克拉谷进行。采用连续抽样法从博克拉谷的社区药房中选择了 115 家社区药房。使用半结构式问卷收集数据。通过模拟男性客户访问社区药房来请求 MA 试剂盒和相关信息。从药剂师那里获得的信息记录在数据收集表中。
在博克拉谷，实践中发现了来自八家制造商的九个品牌的 MA 试剂盒，其中只有五个（56%）在尼泊尔注册。七个品牌的售价高于标签价格。药剂师在所有情况下都会询问胎龄和怀孕确认情况。他们中的大多数人都会向客户提供关于使用频率、持续时间和方向的咨询。配药实践和咨询水平呈显著正相关（r = 0.40，p 值 = 0.01）。
尽管药剂师对 MA 试剂盒有一定的认识，但他们向客户提供的信息有限。在社区药房的实践中发现了近一半未注册的 MA 试剂盒。因此，药品管理局和其他有关当局必须为社区药房的药剂师提供相关的培训和意识计划，以防止 MA 试剂盒的滥用。尼泊尔政府必须通过有效监管药品法案和政策来限制未注册品牌的非法进入，并确保 MA 试剂盒的标准。
