Authors:
Allen Adum
;
Uche Ekwugha
and
Ngozi Emmanuel
Affiliation:
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria
Keyword(s):
Mobile Authentication Service, Public Health Informatics, Fake Drugs, m-Health.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Biomedical Engineering
;
Distributed and Mobile Software Systems
;
Health Engineering and Technology Applications
;
Health Information Systems
;
Mobile Technologies
;
Mobile Technologies for Healthcare Applications
;
Neural Rehabilitation
;
Neurotechnology, Electronics and Informatics
;
Software Engineering
Abstract:
Nigeria has a problem with fake drugs. This issue got to an intolerable height in 1989 when over 150
children died as a result of ingesting paracetamol syrup containing diethylene glycol. The National Agency
for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was formed in 1993, as an agency under the
Nigerian federal ministry of health, to check the tide of fake drugs and adulterated products. To achieve this
mission, NAFDAC, in 2010, launched the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) – a mobile-phone mHealth
platform, which empowers medication drug users to instantaneously verify the authenticity or
otherwise of a medication drug before purchase. This study sought to ascertain the workability of MAS
among medication drug users; and factors negating this platform. The study was designed as a survey. Data
was collected from 400 medication drug users in Lagos state, Nigeria, through a structured survey. Results
show that 91 percent of the respondents were aware of MAS and 53 percent a
mong these utilized it prior to
purchasing medication drugs, while 9 percent were neither aware of MAS nor utilize it. The notable barriers
to the use of MAS found in this study were lack of awareness and the unreliable nature of the MAS.
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