Public Awareness and Attitude towards Counterfeit Medicines in Sudan: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundCounterfeit medicines (CFMs) are a global problem with significant and well-documented consequences for global health and patient safety, including drug resistance and patient deaths. Reports of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Africa indicate a wide variety of detrimental effects. ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to assess the extent, awareness and attitude of public in Sudan towards CFMs. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted applying pretested and structured questionnaire. The awareness and attitude were assessed statistically and the association between those and different demographic characteristics was calculated using Fisher exact test and Spearman correlation. ResultsA total of 386 participants have enrolled in the study. The majority of the respondents (58%) were found to be aware about the term CFMs with social media mentioned to be the main source. 73% of the respondents considered CFMs of worse quality suggesting getting the medicine from a trustworthy pharmacist in order to avoid buying CFMs. 56% reported their ability to distinguish CFMs from the side effects rather than the package and cost. Education was suggested by 82% of the respondents to have vital role in combating CFMs spread through workshops and campaigns. 68% of the participants were found to have a fair awareness about CFMs. Furthermore, 80% of them showed a good attitude toward CFMs ConclusionCurrent literature includes gaps in knowledge and attitude towards CFMs. Therefore attention and concentrated efforts are required on the part of the government, drug manufacturers and health care providers especially pharmaceutical analysts to ensure that only drugs of acceptable quality reach the patient.