Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Practices and Its Associated Factors in Public Health Facilities, West Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia: Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Effective pharmaceutical supply chain practices help to minimize stockout, losses due to expiry, and pilferage. Besides, it helps to ensure the availability of the pharmaceutical in an adequate quantity and improving the quality of services provided. This study aimed to assess the status of the pharmaceutical supply chain practices and associated factors from the healthcare professional's perspective in public health facilities. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design, complemented with a qualitative study, was conducted in public health facilities between April 30 and June 30, 2018. The data were collected with self-administering questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. Epidata and SPSS version 20 was utilized for quantitative data entry and analysis, respectively. Simple and multiple linear regressions were done. A variable with a P-value less than .05 was considered as significantly associated. Twenty-seven key informants were interviewed for qualitative study and the data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method. Result: A total of 425 questionnaires were distributed to respondents and 413 questionnaires were filled and returned successfully. Supplier relationship management and information sharing and technology were underperformed supply chain practices with a mean value of 2.64 and 2.39, respectively. On the contrary, inventory management was a better-performed supply chain practice with a mean of 3.22. The linear regression analysis revealed that the Integrated Pharmaceutical Logistics System [IPLS] skill of the staff and management support were the factors significantly associated with the performance of most supply chain practices. Additional, in-depth interviews exposed that the shortage of budget, poor management support, and lack of staff commitment were the major challenges for most supply chain practices. Conclusion: Generally, the study revealed that most of the supply chain practices were poorly executed in public health facilities. Besides, the pharmaceutical supply chain practices were compromised by budget constraints, staff ignorance, and lack of administrative support.