Antibiotic dispensing practices and patterns of non-prescription antibiotic sales among retail drug outlets in Ghana.
5 affiliations
- 1School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. [email protected].
- 2Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana. [email protected].
- 3Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
- 4Department of Pharmaceutics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
- 5School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Abstract
Background
This study evaluated antibiotic dispensing practices and patterns of non-prescription antibiotic sales among community retail drug outlets in Ghana, to identify which dispenser cadres, client interaction behaviours, and antibiotic types are most implicated in non-prescription dispensing, to generate evidence to support the design of targeted, evidence-based interventions at the retail level.Methods
A cross-sectional study design was used. Data were collected from 158 dispensers, entered, and analyzed using STATA between April and July 2024. Descriptive statistics (mean, SD, median frequency, and percentages) were used to analyze self-reported antibiotic dispensing practices, antibiotic types dispensed, associated diseases and conditions, and influencing factors of antibiotic dispensation without prescription. Chi-square (χ²), bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analyses identified significant predictors of antibiotic dispensing without prescription.Results
A total of 86 (54.4%) out of 158 respondents reported dispensing without a valid prescription, with 80.2% (69) of those dispensing without a prescription doing so regularly. Ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin (65.8%) were most frequently dispensed, while genitourinary infections (74.7%) were the most common disease conditions for which treatment is given before medications are used in treatment. Pharmacists (AOR = 4.63, 95% CI: 1.20-17.83; p = 0.026) were significantly more likely to engage in non-prescription dispensing than other dispensers. Dispensers who requested a history of the client's history on antibiotic usage (AOR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.10-0.89; p = 0.03) were less likely to dispense antibiotics without a prescription compared to those who did not request clients' antibiotic use history. P-values less than 0.05 (p < 0.05) were considered statistically significant associations.Conclusion
A high rate of non-prescription antibiotic sales at retail drug outlets was identified in this study, underscoring the urgent need for regulatory enforcement and community-targeted, evidence-based interventions to promote responsible antibiotic dispensing practices at the retail level.
Related
- Indications for GP antibiotic prescribing and prescription-dispensing concordance, France, 2017-2019
- Effectiveness of Clinical Pathway Pop-Up Window Insertion in Computer-Based Prescription System for Antibiotic Stewardship in Acute Diarrhea.
- Implementation of automated alerts for last-resort antibiotics with indication review by infectious diseases specialists: impact on antibiotic prescription quality and costs
- Survey of public health education combined with intelligent prescription intervention system on antibiotic use in the county-level hospitals
- Antibiotic Knowledge and Non-Prescription Antibiotic Use Among Jordanian Adults: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.
BibTeX
@article{donkor2026antibiotic,
title = {{Antibiotic dispensing practices and patterns of non-prescription antibiotic sales among retail drug outlets in Ghana.}},
author = {Bismark Senyo Donkor and Kingsley Badu and Kwadwo Boampong and Vivian Etsiapa Boamah and Vincent Edinam Assor},
journal = {BMC public health},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12889-026-28725-y},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42902306},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Antibiotic dispensing practices and patterns of non-prescription antibiotic sales among retail drug outlets in Ghana.
AU - Bismark Senyo Donkor
AU - Kingsley Badu
AU - Kwadwo Boampong
AU - Vivian Etsiapa Boamah
AU - Vincent Edinam Assor
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - BMC public health
DO - 10.1186/s12889-026-28725-y
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42902306
AB - Background This study evaluated antibiotic dispensing practices and patterns of non-prescription antibiotic sales among community retail drug outlets in Ghana, to identify which dispenser cadres, client interaction behaviours, and antibiotic types are most implicated in non-prescription dispensing, to generate evidence to support the design of targeted, evidence-based interventions at the retail level.Methods A cross-sectional study design was used. Data were collected from 158 dispensers, entered, and analyzed using STATA between April and July 2024. Descriptive statistics (mean, SD, median frequency, and percentages) were used to analyze self-reported antibiotic dispensing practices, antibiotic types dispensed, associated diseases and conditions, and influencing factors of antibiotic dispensation without prescription. Chi-square (χ²), bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analyses identified significant predictors of antibiotic dispensing without prescription.Results A total of 86 (54.4%) out of 158 respondents reported dispensing without a valid prescription, with 80.2% (69) of those dispensing without a prescription doing so regularly. Ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin (65.8%) were most frequently dispensed, while genitourinary infections (74.7%) were the most common disease conditions for which treatment is given before medications are used in treatment. Pharmacists (AOR = 4.63, 95% CI: 1.20-17.83; p = 0.026) were significantly more likely to engage in non-prescription dispensing than other dispensers. Dispensers who requested a history of the client's history on antibiotic usage (AOR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.10-0.89; p = 0.03) were less likely to dispense antibiotics without a prescription compared to those who did not request clients' antibiotic use history. P-values less than 0.05 (p < 0.05) were considered statistically significant associations.Conclusion A high rate of non-prescription antibiotic sales at retail drug outlets was identified in this study, underscoring the urgent need for regulatory enforcement and community-targeted, evidence-based interventions to promote responsible antibiotic dispensing practices at the retail level.
SN - 1471-2458
ER -