Examining community-managed drug outlets' failure in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas: insights from the consumers' end

Abstract

Abstract Objectives The article aimed to examine the impact of poor purchasing power, perceptions on the physical structure, and medicine demand to community-managed drug outlets or Botika ng Barangay (BnB) in the Philippines. The study investigated what contributes to program resiliency or failure in so far as the consumers in geographically isolated and disadvantaged area (GIDA) are concerned. Methods Findings were drawn from five sets of focus-group discussion (FGD) among residents, four in-depth interviews (IDIs) with former operators of BnB and three IDI with former members of the village council specifically assigned in health sector. Key findings The study found out that all our study variables namely; poor purchasing power, perceptions on BnBs' physical image, and limited medicines that do not match the consumers' medicine demand did not contribute to the failure of the program in their communities. However, the study found out that informal arrangements in the community which allowed people to just loan medicines without actually paying in return was intimately connected to BnBs' closure in the communities. Conclusion The study suggests that, in the context of GIDAs, the failure of community-managed drug outlets rests as well on financially unsustainable practices in the community. This, we believe, can be negated through provisions for medicine subsidy.