par Oleffe, Amandine ;Sako, Binta ;Paul, Elisabeth ;Mahieu, Céline
Référence International journal of pharmacy practice, 30, 4, page (315-325), https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpp/riac038
Publication Publié, 2022-05-31
Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : Objective. In Sub-Saharan Africa, private medicine retailers have become the first entry point to health systems, irrespective of their level of accreditation. This review aims to map the main trends in research about formal and informal medicine retailers in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past twenty years. Such an overview offers a valuable resource to understand their role and develop inclusive interventions to improve accessibility to healthcare in line with people’s health seeking behaviours. Methods. The review followed the steps recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Four electronic databases were searched and complemented by manual web researches. Findings. A total of 293 publications from 23 countries met our inclusion criteria, 79% of which relate to six countries. The number of publications has been growing since 2010. Medicine retailers are distributed among three professional groups based on their accreditation level. Most studies used quantitative methods. Three topics − service provision; knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and the expanding role of medicine retailers in the health system – accounted for 67% of included studies. Most studies focus on a specific health condition of which malaria (26%) and sexual/reproductive health (13%) are most common. Conclusion. The review reveals increasing interest in medicine retailers in Sub-Saharan Africa, and rising expectations as stakeholders within health systems. The review suggests new research and interventions should focus on: moving beyond a disease-based approach; using qualitative methods; understudied countries, rural areas, and informal medicine retailers. A more dynamic, relational, and interactive approach could help better understand the sector.

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