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Introduction The supply of essential medicines is one of the vital components of primary health care. One of the important objectives of Indian health policy is to provide all the essential medicines at an affordable cost for the public. The performance of healthcare facilities is directly affected by the supply of essential medicines. This study was conducted to check the availability of key essential medicines in selected public healthcare facilities of the South Indian Union Territory. Methods A snapshot survey was conducted between March 2019 and February 2020 in 10 selected public health facilities to assess the availability of 50 key essential medicines. Percentage availability for all surveyed medicines for the individual facility as well as percentage availability of individual medicines in all surveyed health facilities was calculated. Results Percentage availability of 50 key essential medicines in 10 surveyed public health facilities was found in a range of 66 to 80%. Out of 50 medicines, 26 (52%) medicines were available in more than 80% of health facilities while six (12%) medicines were available in less than 30% of surveyed facilities. Conclusion This study reported the high availability of essential medicines in public health facilities as compared to similar studies done in other parts of India but the availability of some essential medicines was found sub-optimal and needs to be improved.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Micro and macro-vascular complications of Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (DM) could be decreased by maintaining a good glycaemic control, which is dependent on adherence to medication and self care. AIM: (1) To assess medication adherence and adherence to self care among type 2 diabetics who were admitted to a tertiary care hospital (2) To identify factors which were associated with medication adherence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study involved 150 in-patients of Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital (SMVMCH), a teaching hospital in Puducherry, southern India. Subjects who had type 2 DM for more than 1 month were included in the study, irrespective of their diagnoses at admission. They were interviewed within 24 hours of their admissions by using a pre-designed, pre-tested, structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS) and questions for assessing adherence to self care activities. The factors which were associated with medication adherence were identified by Chi-square test and logistic regression. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 54 years. Only 49.3% (95% CI: 41% to 57%) of the diabetics had high medication adherence (MMAS score = 8). Only 22.7% of the diabetics were involved in physical exercise for at least 30 minutes, for at least 4 days in a week. Only 16.7% of them regularly inspected their feet. Around 67.3% of the subjects reported about consuming a diabetic diet for at least 4 days/week. Poor family support showed a significant association with low medication adherence. CONCLUSION: Only 49.3% of the subjects adhered to anti-diabetic medications. Less than 25% of the diabetics adhered to self care activities such as exercising/walking for 30 minutes on at least 4 days in a week, regularly inspected their feet and provided feet care. Family support played a vital role in medication adherence among the diabetic subjects. Hence, it is important to regularly assess patients for medication adherence and include their families also in counseling sessions.
