Medicine stock Management at primary health care facilities in one South African province

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dc.contributor.advisorHonda, Ayakoen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorOrgill, Marshaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMunedzimwe, Fadzai Euniceen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2018-04-24T13:51:30Z
dc.date.available2018-04-24T13:51:30Z
dc.date.issued2018en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAs nations are encouraged to move towards achieving Universal Health coverage (UHC), access to essential medicines needs to be prioritized. In ensuring access to medicines, an important factor to be considered is the uninterrupted availability of essential medicines at the primary health care (PHC) level which is usually the first point of entry into the health system for patients. If South Africa is to move towards achieving UHC, the government must address the issue of unavailability of medicines due to frequent stock outs at the public health facilities. The increase in prevalence of HIV/AIDS and TB has resulted in an increase in the demand for medicines used in the management and treatment of these diseases. Surveys have revealed the extent of stock outs and shortages of medicines used in the management of HIV and TB in South Africa. It has also been predicted that the burden of disease in relation to these diseases is likely to increase in the coming years therefore, it is important for the South African government to address the issues of stock outs. Using a qualitative multiple case study approach, we explored the factors which may influence the management of medicine stock thus causing medicine stock outs at four PHC facilities in two of the districts in the study province. A conceptual framework on the factors influencing medicine stock outs at health facilities was developed from reviewing literature on the subject and this was used to guide data collection and analysis. Our findings revealed that the factors influencing the management of medicine stock leading to medicine stock outs include the lack of capacity in terms of human resources and physical resources at the PHC facilities. Insufficient supervision and support from the district level also had an influence as health workers at the facilities did not always follow the recommended procedures for medicine stock management. We also found that there were gaps in communication between the health workers at the facilities and stakeholders at other levels, particularly the pharmaceutical depot from which the facilities obtained their medicines. The inadequate information systems contributed to this gap in communication. Whilst many studies have focused on the factors that may influence the availability of medicine at higher levels, this study focused on what may influence it at the ground level, the PHC facility level. We anticipate that our findings will inform policy makers on how the availability of medicines at PHC facilities may be improved by focusing on improving the processes in medicine stock management at this level.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMunedzimwe, F. E. (2018). <i>Medicine stock Management at primary health care facilities in one South African province</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Health Economics Unit. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27822en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMunedzimwe, Fadzai Eunice. <i>"Medicine stock Management at primary health care facilities in one South African province."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Health Economics Unit, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27822en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMunedzimwe, F. 2018. Medicine stock Management at primary health care facilities in one South African province. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Munedzimwe, Fadzai Eunice AB - As nations are encouraged to move towards achieving Universal Health coverage (UHC), access to essential medicines needs to be prioritized. In ensuring access to medicines, an important factor to be considered is the uninterrupted availability of essential medicines at the primary health care (PHC) level which is usually the first point of entry into the health system for patients. If South Africa is to move towards achieving UHC, the government must address the issue of unavailability of medicines due to frequent stock outs at the public health facilities. The increase in prevalence of HIV/AIDS and TB has resulted in an increase in the demand for medicines used in the management and treatment of these diseases. Surveys have revealed the extent of stock outs and shortages of medicines used in the management of HIV and TB in South Africa. It has also been predicted that the burden of disease in relation to these diseases is likely to increase in the coming years therefore, it is important for the South African government to address the issues of stock outs. Using a qualitative multiple case study approach, we explored the factors which may influence the management of medicine stock thus causing medicine stock outs at four PHC facilities in two of the districts in the study province. A conceptual framework on the factors influencing medicine stock outs at health facilities was developed from reviewing literature on the subject and this was used to guide data collection and analysis. Our findings revealed that the factors influencing the management of medicine stock leading to medicine stock outs include the lack of capacity in terms of human resources and physical resources at the PHC facilities. Insufficient supervision and support from the district level also had an influence as health workers at the facilities did not always follow the recommended procedures for medicine stock management. We also found that there were gaps in communication between the health workers at the facilities and stakeholders at other levels, particularly the pharmaceutical depot from which the facilities obtained their medicines. The inadequate information systems contributed to this gap in communication. Whilst many studies have focused on the factors that may influence the availability of medicine at higher levels, this study focused on what may influence it at the ground level, the PHC facility level. We anticipate that our findings will inform policy makers on how the availability of medicines at PHC facilities may be improved by focusing on improving the processes in medicine stock management at this level. DA - 2018 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2018 T1 - Medicine stock Management at primary health care facilities in one South African province TI - Medicine stock Management at primary health care facilities in one South African province UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27822 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/27822
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMunedzimwe FE. Medicine stock Management at primary health care facilities in one South African province. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Health Economics Unit, 2018 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27822en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentHealth Economics Uniten_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherPublic Healthen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHealth Economicsen_ZA
dc.titleMedicine stock Management at primary health care facilities in one South African provinceen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPHen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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