{"title":"Prices, availability and affordability of selected essential medicines for chronic diseases in Türkiye","authors":"Gökçen Özler, Oğuz Işik","doi":"10.26719/emhj.23.117","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Background: Fair access to essential medicines is a significant parameter in fulfilling the right to basic health. Aim: We investigated the availability, prices and affordability of essential medicines for chronic diseases in Ankara, Türkiye. Methods: We used the procedures outlined in the WHO and Health Action International guidelines for measuring prices, availability, affordability, and price components of medicines. The sample consisted of 334 (14%) of the 2354 pharmacies in Ankara, and 24 essential medicines for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and palliative care, adopted from the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (2021). We collected the data in 2021 using a questionnaire administered through face-to-face survey and analysed the data using SPSS version 22. Results: The findings showed that 15 medicines (62.5% of the selected medicines) met the 80% availability target set by WHO, while 9 did not. The original medicines were more readily available than the generic ones. Among the original medicines, furosemide (10.11) and acetylsalicylic acid (9.26) had the highest median price ratios. The generic medicines seemed to be more affordable than original medicines. Glibenclamide, budesonide, gliclazide, and diazepam had low availability and were sold at higher prices than their international reference prices. Conclusion: This research highlights priority areas of action to improve access to affordable medicines for chronic diseases in Ankara, Türkiye.","PeriodicalId":11411,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal","volume":"14 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.23.117","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Fair access to essential medicines is a significant parameter in fulfilling the right to basic health. Aim: We investigated the availability, prices and affordability of essential medicines for chronic diseases in Ankara, Türkiye. Methods: We used the procedures outlined in the WHO and Health Action International guidelines for measuring prices, availability, affordability, and price components of medicines. The sample consisted of 334 (14%) of the 2354 pharmacies in Ankara, and 24 essential medicines for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and palliative care, adopted from the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (2021). We collected the data in 2021 using a questionnaire administered through face-to-face survey and analysed the data using SPSS version 22. Results: The findings showed that 15 medicines (62.5% of the selected medicines) met the 80% availability target set by WHO, while 9 did not. The original medicines were more readily available than the generic ones. Among the original medicines, furosemide (10.11) and acetylsalicylic acid (9.26) had the highest median price ratios. The generic medicines seemed to be more affordable than original medicines. Glibenclamide, budesonide, gliclazide, and diazepam had low availability and were sold at higher prices than their international reference prices. Conclusion: This research highlights priority areas of action to improve access to affordable medicines for chronic diseases in Ankara, Türkiye.
期刊介绍:
The Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, established in 1995, is the flagship health periodical of the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.
The mission of the Journal is to contribute to improving health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region by publishing and publicising quality health research and information with emphasis on public health and the strategic health priorities of the Region. It aims to: further public health knowledge, policy, practice and education; support health policy-makers, researchers and practitioners; and enable health professionals to remain informed of developments in public health.
The EMHJ:
-publishes original peer-reviewed research and reviews in all areas of public health of relevance to the Eastern Mediterranean Region
-encourages, in particular, research related to the regional health priorities, namely: health systems strengthening; emergency preparedness and response; communicable diseases; noncommunicable diseases and mental health; reproductive, maternal, child health and nutrition
-provides up-to-date information on public health developments with special reference to the Region.
The Journal addresses all members of the health profession, health educational institutes, as well as governmental and nongovernmental organizations in the area of public health within and outside the Region.