Availability and prescription of misoprostol for medical abortion in community pharmacies and associated factors in Accra, Ghana. 2019

John K Ganle, and Nana T Busia, and Ernest Maya
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.

OBJECTIVE To assess misoprostol availability at community pharmacies and determine factors affecting misoprostol prescription for medical abortion. METHODS A cross-sectional quantitative survey of randomly sampled community pharmacies and their corresponding pharmacists/pharmacy workers was conducted in the city of Accra, Ghana. Structured questionnaires were administered to collect data between May 1 and July 28, 2016. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and proportions) and bivariate and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. RESULTS Of the 165 community pharmacies surveyed, approximately half (83 [50.3%]) stocked misoprostol. Availability of misoprostol however decreased when moving from first class to third class residential areas. 44 (26.7%) of the respondents had prescribed the drug at some time for medical abortion, but 140 (84.6%) indicated they would not prescribe the drug for medical abortion in future. Factors that significantly predicted misoprostol prescription for medical abortion included sex of the pharmacist/pharmacy worker, demand, and availability of misoprostol. CONCLUSIONS Demand for misoprostol for medical abortion was found to be high but only half of community pharmacies stocked it, and most pharmacy workers did not wish to prescribe the drug. If community pharmacies are to effectively contribute to expanding access to safe abortion services in Ghana, the disparity between misoprostol provision and demand needs to be addressed.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D010594 Pharmacies Facilities for the preparation and dispensing of drugs. Community Pharmacies,Pharmacy Distribution,Community Pharmacy,Distribution, Pharmacy,Distributions, Pharmacy,Pharmacies, Community,Pharmacy Distributions,Pharmacy, Community
D010595 Pharmacists Those persons legally qualified by education and training to engage in the practice of pharmacy. Clinical Pharmacists,Community Pharmacists,Retail Pharmacists,Clinical Pharmacist,Community Pharmacist,Pharmacist,Pharmacist, Clinical,Pharmacist, Community,Pharmacist, Retail,Pharmacists, Clinical,Pharmacists, Community,Pharmacists, Retail,Retail Pharmacist
D011247 Pregnancy The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH. Gestation,Pregnancies
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D003430 Cross-Sectional Studies Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time. Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005260 Female Females
D005869 Ghana A republic in western Africa, south of BURKINA FASO and west of TOGO. Its capital is Accra. Gold Coast,Republic of Ghana
D006297 Health Services Accessibility The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system. Factors influencing this ability include geographic, architectural, transportational, and financial considerations, among others. Access To Care, Health,Access to Care,Access to Contraception,Access to Health Care,Access to Health Services,Access to Medications,Access to Medicines,Access to Therapy,Access to Treatment,Accessibility of Health Services,Availability of Health Services,Contraception Access,Contraceptive Access,Medication Access,Accessibility, Health Services,Contraceptive Availability,Health Services Geographic Accessibility,Program Accessibility,Access to Cares,Access to Contraceptions,Access to Medication,Access to Medicine,Access to Therapies,Access to Treatments,Access, Contraception,Access, Contraceptive,Access, Medication,Accessibilities, Health Services,Accessibility, Program,Availability, Contraceptive,Care, Access to,Cares, Access to,Contraception, Access to,Contraceptive Accesses,Health Services Availability,Medication Accesses,Medication, Access to,Medicine, Access to,Medicines, Access to,Therapy, Access to,Treatment, Access to
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

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