Purpose:
To assess dispensing and
prescribing practices with regard to antimalarial drugs
for pediatrics in private pharmacies and public
hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Methods:
This was a
cross-sectional, descriptive study that assessed the
knowledge and practice of 200 drug dispensers in the
private community pharmacies in Dar es Salaam. Two
hundred (200) parents of children seeking malaria
treatment were also interviewed at the public hospitals.
Results:
A majority of drug dispensers had moderate (63.3 %) to
low knowledge (36.7 %) regarding antimalarial drug use
in pediatrics. Parents had moderate (67 %) to low (33 %)
level of understanding of the instructions given to them
by the prescribers regarding administration of
antimalarial drugs to pediatrics at home. Most children
were not weighed, and there were indications of wrong
calculations of doses of antimalarials in pediatrics.
Conclusion:
Overall, there were irrational dispensing and
prescribing of antimalarial drugs to pediatrics. Since
malaria is a major killer disease in Tanzania,
especially in children under five years of age, there is
a need to institute measures to ensure rational
prescribing, dispensing and use of antimalarial drugs in
pediatrics.
Keywords:
Antimalarials, Dispensing,
Knowledge, Pediatrics, Pharmacies, Prescribing
