Al Zoubi Sura, Gharaibeh Lobna, Jaber Hatim M, Al-Zoubi Zaha
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Al-Balqa Applied University, As-Salt, Jordan.
Pharmacological and Diagnostic Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan.
Front Pharmacol. 2021 Dec 22;12:813405. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.813405. eCollection 2021.
The coronavirus disease that emerged in 2019 (COVID-19) has affected health, societies and economies. Policies that have been imposed by different countries to slow the spread of the disease, including national lockdowns, curfews, border closures and enforcement of social distancing measures have disturbed the drug supply chain and resulted in drug shortages. Uncertainty concerning the pandemic has also led to the panic buying of drugs and the stockpiling of drugs in households, which has amplified the problem. In this cross-sectional study, a self-developed questionnaire was distributed online in order to a) assess the practice of household drug stockpiling prior to the national lockdown in Jordan, b) investigate the factors affecting it and c) measure peoples' knowledge about the consequences of this behaviour. Results from this study show that drug purchasing was reported by 44.3% of the participants and was most common among participants from non-medical backgrounds (336, 75.7%) or those who have chronic diseases (261, 58.8%) and taking chronic supplements (282, 63.5%) regardless of their age, gender, living area or the possession of health insurance. Analgesics and antipyretics were the most frequently purchased drugs (225, 70.5%) and anticipation of their need was the most common reason for purchasing drugs (231, 52.0%). Buyers were also less aware, when compared to non-buyers, that panic buying and drug stockpiling may lead to drug shortages (204, 45.9% vs 325, 58.1%) and that this behaviour can pose a health hazard, especially to children (221, 47.5% vs 342, 61.2%). Our study shows that panic buying of drugs and household drug stockpiling were common in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic and this was related to participants' medical knowledge and educational backgrounds. Therefore, educating the general population regarding rational drug use is urgently needed. This is also a compelling case for the development of national guidelines for drug management that target the general population and healthcare personnel, especially pharmacists, to avoid drug shortages during crises.
2019年出现的冠状病毒病（COVID-19）已经影响到健康、社会和经济。不同国家为减缓疾病传播而实施的政策，包括全国封锁、宵禁、边境关闭以及强制实施社交距离措施，扰乱了药品供应链并导致药品短缺。疫情的不确定性还导致了药品的恐慌性购买和家庭囤药，这加剧了问题的严重性。在这项横断面研究中，我们通过在线方式发放了一份自行编制的问卷，目的是：a）评估约旦全国封锁之前家庭囤药的情况；b）调查影响家庭囤药的因素；c）衡量人们对这种行为后果的了解程度。这项研究的结果显示，44.3%的参与者报告有购药行为，这在非医学背景的参与者中最为常见（336人，占75.7%），或者在患有慢性病的参与者中（261人，占58.8%）以及正在服用慢性补充剂的参与者中（282人，占63.5%）最为常见，无论他们的年龄、性别、居住地区或是否拥有医疗保险。镇痛药和解热药是最常购买的药品（225人，占70.5%），预计有需求是购药的最常见原因（231人，占52.0%）。与非购买者相比，购买者也不太了解恐慌性购买和囤药可能会导致药品短缺（分别为204人，占45.9%和325人，占58.1%），并且这种行为可能对健康构成危害，尤其是对儿童（分别为221人，占47.5%和342人，占61.2%）。我们的研究表明，在COVID-19大流行期间，约旦普遍存在药品的恐慌性购买和家庭囤药现象，这与参与者的医学知识和教育背景有关。因此，迫切需要对普通民众进行合理用药教育。这也是制定针对普通民众和医护人员，尤其是药剂师的国家药品管理指南的有力理由，以避免危机期间出现药品短缺。
