Medicine shortages in Fiji: A qualitative exploration of stakeholders' views

Medicine access is a human right; yet, concerningly, there are international instances of shortages. Quantitative data has allowed WHO to propose global solutions; however, individualised understanding of specific regions is still required to work towards national solutions. Fiji has an established...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one Vol. 12; no. 6; p. e0178429
Main Authors:	Walker, Josephine, Chaar, Betty B, Vera, Numa, Pillai, Alvish S, Lim, Jessy S, Bero, Lisa, Moles, Rebekah J
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Public Library of Science 05-06-2017 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:	Ambulatory care Analysis Brand names Bureaucrats Data collection Data processing Drug stores Drugs Drugs, Essential - supply & distribution Education Epidemics Ethics Exploration Feasibility Fiji Generic drugs Health Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Health sciences Humans Intervention Interviews Management Medical care Medicine Medicine and Health Sciences Midwifery education Nursing Patient Satisfaction - statistics & numerical data Patients People and Places Pharmacists Pharmacists - psychology Pharmacoeconomics Physicians - psychology Politics Prescription Drugs - supply & distribution Public health Public sector Qualitative Research Research and Analysis Methods Shortages Social Sciences Studies Supply and demand Surveys and Questionnaires Tourism Training Fiji
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Summary:	Medicine access is a human right; yet, concerningly, there are international instances of shortages. Quantitative data has allowed WHO to propose global solutions; however, individualised understanding of specific regions is still required to work towards national solutions. Fiji has an established issue with medication supply and the aim of this study was to use qualitative methods to gain a fuller understanding of this context. Semi-structured interviews were used to gain the perspective of key stakeholders involved in the Fijian medicine supply chain in regards to causes, impacts and possible solutions of medicine shortages. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data. In total, 48 stakeholders participated and the information was synthesised into three main themes, causes, impacts and solutions and the sub-themes including; political, system and patient causes, adverse health effects on patients, professional dissatisfaction, monetary loss and loss of faith in the health system, workarounds, operation improvements, government intervention and education and training. The situation in Fiji is not dissimilar to other instances of shortages around the world and hence international solutions like that proposed by WHO are feasible; however, they must be modified to be uniquely Fijian to work in this context.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Conceptualization: RM NV AP.Data curation: JW.Formal analysis: JW BC RM.Funding acquisition: RM LB.Investigation: JW JL.Methodology: RM BC NV AP LB.Project administration: RM.Supervision: RM LB BC AP NV.Validation: AV NV.Visualization: JW RM BC.Writing – original draft: JW.Writing – review & editing: JW RM BC JL LB AP NV.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0178429