Mbonane Hlalanathi, Sibanda Mncengeli, Godman Brian, Meyer Johanna C, Matlala Moliehi
Department of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University; Molotlegi Street, Ga-Rankuwa 0208, South Africa.
East Boom Community Health Centre, 541 Boom Street, Pietermaritzburg 3201, South Africa.
Explor Res Clin Soc Pharm. 2023 Feb 1;9:100233. doi: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100233. eCollection 2023 Mar.
The Stock Visibility System (SVS) is a mobile application and web-based management tool used at public primary health care (PHC) facilities in South Africa to capture and monitor medicines availability, providing visibility at national level. Medicine stock-outs are prevalent despite the implementation of SVS, compromising patient care. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of healthcare professionals (HCPs) on the use of the SVS at PHC level to provide future guidance.
A cross-sectional study using a structured self-administered questionnaire among 206 HCPs at 21 randomly selected PHC facilities located in a health district in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Closed-ended questions were used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge on the SVS and practices on its use. A Likert scale was used to determine attitudes towards the SVS. Cronbach's alpha (α) was used to assess the internal consistency of the questionnaire and independent samples -test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test statistical difference in the mean scores for KAP and socio-demographic variables. Association between knowledge and practices, and attitude and practices was determined using odds ratios (OR) and Chi-square.
The majority (99.5%) of HCPs had previous training on SVS. Nearly two thirds (62.1%; 128/206) generally had good knowledge about the SVS and 76.7% (158/206) had positive attitudes towards the SVS while only 17.0% had a good practice score. There was no statistically significant association between KAP of HCPs on the use of the SVS, and sociodemographic variables (HCP qualification, age and sex). There was a significant association between the knowledge and practice scores (aOR: 5.44; 95% CI: 1.92-15.4; = 0.001). Although positive attitudes, was associated with good practices, it was not statistically significant (OR: 1.21; 95% CI: 0.46-3.22; = 0.702).
HCPs in this district had poor practices when using SVS despite good knowledge and positive attitudes towards SVS and the higher the HCPs knowledge of SVS, the more desirable the practices on SVS. This underscores the need for continuous training of HCPs to ensure a constant and efficient supply of medicines to meet the health needs of the population.
库存可见性系统（SVS）是一款移动应用程序和基于网络的管理工具，在南非的公共初级卫生保健（PHC）机构中使用，用于记录和监测药品供应情况，以提供国家层面的可见性。尽管实施了SVS，但药品缺货情况仍然普遍存在，影响了患者护理。本研究旨在评估初级卫生保健层面医疗保健专业人员（HCPs）对SVS使用的知识、态度和实践（KAP），以为未来提供指导。
在南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省一个卫生区随机选择的21家初级卫生保健机构中的206名HCPs中，采用结构化自填问卷进行横断面研究。使用封闭式问题收集社会人口学特征、SVS知识及其使用实践的数据。采用李克特量表确定对SVS的态度。使用克朗巴哈系数（α）评估问卷的内部一致性，使用独立样本t检验和单因素方差分析（ANOVA）检验KAP和社会人口学变量平均得分的统计学差异。使用比值比（OR）和卡方检验确定知识与实践、态度与实践之间的关联。
大多数（99.5%）HCPs之前接受过SVS培训。近三分之二（62.1%；128/206）的人总体上对SVS有较好的了解，76.7%（158/206）的人对SVS持积极态度，而只有17.0%的人实践得分良好。HCPs对SVS使用的KAP与社会人口学变量（HCP资格、年龄和性别）之间无统计学显著关联。知识得分与实践得分之间存在显著关联（校正后比值比：5.44；95%置信区间：1.92 - 15.4；P = 0.001）。虽然积极态度与良好实践相关，但无统计学显著性（比值比：1.21；95%置信区间：0.46 - 3.22；P = 0.702）。
该地区的HCPs在使用SVS时实践较差，尽管对SVS有良好的知识和积极态度，且HCPs对SVS的知识越高，SVS的实践越理想。这凸显了对HCPs进行持续培训的必要性，以确保持续、高效地供应药品，满足人群的健康需求。
