Patients and healthcare workers' preferences for using smart lockers in accessing and dispensing chronic disease medication in Nigeria: Findings from a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Autor: Gobir IB; Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States of America., Agboola S; Georgetown Global Health Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria., Nnadozie HO; Georgetown Global Health Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria., Adamu H; Georgetown Global Health Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria., Sanni FO; Georgetown Global Health Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria., Adamu A; Georgetown Global Health Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria., Bello AA; Georgetown Global Health Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria., Otubu AS; Savannah Health System Innovation Limited, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria., Bazira D; Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States of America., Niyang PM; Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States of America.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 Jul 05; Vol. 19 (7), pp. e0303625. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 05 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303625
Abstrakt: The use of smart locker technology has been beneficial for patients with chronic diseases who require regular medication and face challenges accessing healthcare facilities due to distance, time, or mobility issues. This study aimed to assess preferences for utilizing Smart Lockers in accessing and dispensing chronic disease medication among healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients in Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 8th and December 4th, 2021, across secondary healthcare facilities in five states of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue, and Niger. Among 1,133 participants included in the analysis, 405 were HCWs and 728 were patients with chronic illnesses. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were used to summarize the data, while chi-square tests were employed to assess significant differences between healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients. Results indicated a strong preference among both HCWs and patients for one-on-one counseling as the preferred method for orientating patients on using Smart Lockers, with 53.8% of HCWs and 58.1% of patients expressing this preference (p = 0.25). Additionally, there was a shared preference for hospitals or clinics as secure locations for Smart Lockers, with 68.9% of HCWs and 71.6% of patients preferring this option (p < 0.05). The majority of participants favored receiving notification of drug delivery via phone call, with 49.1% of HCWs and 48.8% of patients expressing this preference (p = 0.63). There was a significant difference in preferences for access hours, the majority (HCWs: 65.4% and patients: 52.6%) favored 24-hour access (p < 0.05). Participants identified patients with HIV within the age range of 18-40 as the most suitable population to benefit from using Smart Lockers for medication dispensing. These findings offer insights into healthcare policies aimed at enhancing medication access and adherence among patients with chronic diseases in Nigeria. The development of models for using smart lockers to dispense chronic disease medications to chronically ill persons in Nigeria and other populations is recommended.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Gobir et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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