<p>Critical evaluation of the validity of drug promotion materials in Ethiopia</p>

Abstract

Purpose This study was conducted to evaluate the validity of drug promotion materials (DPMs) in Ethiopia. Methods A cross sectional document review was done. DPMs were evaluated for fulfilment of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) criteria for ethical promotion of drugs. They were also evaluated for font size, type of formulation, claims made, pictures depicted, retrievability and source of references used. Results A total of 235 DPMs were collected from the community and hospital pharmacies. Documents promoting devices and equipment, orthopedic appliances, reminder cards and drug lists were excluded, leaving 173 promotional materials. Antimicrobials were the most promoted drugs (27.2%) followed by respiratory drugs (11.0%) and gastrointestinal drugs (9.8%). Brand name was written in all of the DPMs while approved generic names, indication and active ingredient per dosage form were written in 94.8%, 92.5% and 62.4% respectively. Side effects and contraindications were written in 27.2% and 18.5% of the DPMs. A total of 223 claims were made. Efficacy was the dominant claim (62.3%) followed by safety (8.5%). Pictorial demonstrations were used in 84.4% of the DPMs. Almost half of the pictures depicted, 47.3%, were the cover of the drug products. Only 48.6% of the DPMs has supported their claims with references. Review articles account for 23.3% of the references. Only 5.8% of the journal articles were published after the year 2013. Conclusion We conclude that the design and content of studied drug promotional materials are most effective as sales materials rather than thorough informational vehicles. The WHO and Food, Medicine and Health Care Administration and Control Authority of Ethiopia recommendations are rarely met.

Adherence to WHO Criteria on Drug Promotion Literature: An Exploratory Study From a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in South-West Nigeria

“…However, in this study, only 25.2% of screened DPLs had references included, which is less than 48.6% and 42.8% reported in studies conducted in Ethiopia and India. 35,49 An appreciably higher proportion of references was also reported in studies from Saudi Arabia (64%) and Iraq (72%), 34,39 which needs to be a minimum in Nigeria going forward.…”

“…This is because of the anecdotal belief of the negative effect of these anti-infective medications on the general wellbeing and the need to beef up one's immunity when taking them. Antimicrobials were also the most common medicines promoted in studies conducted in Ethiopia and India 35,44 , while vitamins/nutritional supplements made up 27.9% of all DPLs screened in another Indian study. 45 Cardiovascular (26.4%), endocrine drugs (18.9%), and nutritional supplements (18.9%) were also the most advertised among screened DPLs in a similar study by NAikwadi et al 46 in India.…”

“…Overall compliance was 95.3% to 100% regarding information on INN and brand names and therapeutic indications for the advertised drug in this study, similar to studies conducted in India, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Nepal. [33][34][35][36] Proper identification of a medicine being marketed is essential. Consequently, it is not surprising that these items were also found in majority of the DPLs screened in these studies.…”

A Critical Review of the Drug Promotional Literature Published in Scientific Medical Journals and Available at Outpatient Departments: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

“…Over time, several studies have been conducted to check the compliance of DLP to the criteria mentioned in the guidelines, but the results have been nothing but disappointing. Most studies have found that most of the DPLs analyzed are not entirely compliant with the guidelines [10][11][12][13].…”

“…(9) The advertisement should mention major interactions with other drugs. (10) The name and address of the manufacturer or distributor should be provided. (11) Reference should be made to scientific literature, as appropriate.…”