Table 4.
Pharmacist scepticism and acceptance towards drug promotion by MRs (463)
| Statement | N (%) | Gender | P value | Age group, years | P value | |||
| Male (335) | Female (128) | 20–25 (159) | 26–30 (221) | 31–35 (83) | ||||
| Statement indicating acceptance (agreed) | ||||||||
| The information provided by drug representatives about their company’s product can be trusted | 183 (39.5) | 134 (40.0) | 49 (38.3) | 0.357 | 69 (43.3) | 83 (37.6) | 31 (37.3) | 0.556 |
| The information from drug representatives is important for the pharmacy staff | 116 (25.0) | 89 (26.6) | 27 (21.1) | 0.042 | 37 (23.3) | 56 (25.3) | 23 (27.7) | 0.000 |
| It is OK for a pharmacist to accept gifts from drug companies because drug companies have minimal influence on staff | 80 (17.3) | 65 (19.4) | 15 (11.7) | 0.038 | 31 (19.5) | 23 (10.4) | 26 (31.3) | 0.000 |
| Most talks sponsored by drug companies are helpful and educational | 136 (29.4) | 107 (31.9) | 29 (22.7) | 0.027 | 29 (18.2) | 75 (33.9) | 32 (38.6) | 0.000 |
| Drug companies are a useful way to learn about new drugs | 219 (47.3) | 155 (46.3) | 64 (50.0) | 0.714 | 85 (53.5) | 108 (48.9) | 26 (31.3) | 0.000 |
| Statement indicating acceptance (agreed) | Experience (years) | |||||||
| 1–3 (339) | 4–6 (124) | P value | ||||||
| The information provided by drug representatives about their company’s product can be trusted | 145 (42.8) | 38 (30.6) | 0.001 | |||||
| The information from drug representatives is important for the pharmacy staff | 93 (27.4) | 23 (18.5) | 0.002 | |||||
| It is OK for a pharmacist to accept gifts from drug companies because drug companies have minimal influence on staff | 43 (12.7) | 37 (29.8) | 0.000 | |||||
| Most talks sponsored by drug companies are helpful and educational | 76 (22.4) | 60 (48.4) | 0.000 | |||||
| Drug companies are a useful way to learn about new drugs | 179 (52.8) | 40 (32.3) | 0.000 | |||||
| Gender | P value | Age group, years | P value | |||||
| Statement indicating scepticism (agreed) | Male (335) | Female (128) | 20–25 (159) | 26–30 (221) | 31–35 (83) | |||
| Drug companies’ sponsored talks are often biased in favour of their products | 352 (76.0) | 252 (76.4) | 100 (78.1) | 0.505 | 110 (69.2) | 195 (88.2) | 51 (61.4) | 0.001 |
| Gifts from drug companies to pharmacists lead to increased prices of medicines | 121 (26.1) | 73 (21.8) | 38 (29.7) | 0.199 | 25 (15.7) | 74 (33.5) | 12 (14.5) | 0.00 |
| Receiving gifts or food from pharmaceutical representatives increases the chance that I will eventually sell or recommend the drug company’s product | 77 (16.6) | 60 (17.9) | 17 (13.3) | 0.177 | 23 (14.5) | 44 (19.9) | 10 (12.0) | 0.16 |
| Drug companies act unethically in promoting and advertising their products | 310 (66.9) | 221 (66.0) | 89 (69.5) | 0.695 | 112 (70.4) | 142 (64.3) | 56 (67.5) | 0.021 |
| Statement indicating scepticism (agreed) | Experience, years | P value | ||||||
| 1–3 (339) | 4–6 (124) | |||||||
| Drug companies’ sponsored talks are often biased in favour of their products | 269 (79.4) | 87 (70.2) | 0.008 | |||||
| Gifts from drug companies to pharmacists lead to increased prices of medicines | 82 (24.2) | 29 (23.4) | 0.013 | |||||
| Receiving gifts or food from pharmaceutical representatives increases the chance that I will eventually sell or recommend the drug company’s product | 58 (17.1) | 19 (15.3) | 0.06 | |||||
| Drug companies act unethically in promoting and advertising their products | 224 (66.1) | 86 (69.4) | 0.554 | |||||
| Statement indicating influence (yes) | Gender | P value | Age group, years | P value | ||||
| Male (335) | Female (128) | 20–25 (159) | 26–30 (221) | 31–35 (83) | ||||
| Do you think these drug promotions play a role in the irrational prescribing of the antibiotics? | 353 (76.2) | 254 (75.8) | 99 (77.3) | 0.609 | 138 (86.8) | 152 (68.8) | 63 (75.9) | 0.000 |
| Have you ever dispensed antibiotics without prescriptions for common ailments due to drug promotion? | 86 (18.6) | 57 (17.0) | 29 (22.7) | 0.155 | 47 (29.6) | 31 (14.0) | 8 (9.6) | 0.000 |
| Would you dispense antibiotics for an off-label indication due to false bombardment of information? | 124 (26.8) | 91 (27.2) | 33 (25.8) | 0.712 | 36 (22.6) | 67 (30.3) | 21 (25.3) | 0.293 |
| Statement indicating influence (yes) | Experience (years) | P value | ||||||
| 1–3 (339) | 4–6 (124) | |||||||
| Do you think these drug promotions are playing a role in the irrational prescribing of antibiotics? | 264 (77.9) | 89 (71.9) | 0.261 | |||||
| Have you ever dispensed antibiotics without prescriptions for common ailments due to drug promotion? | 73 (21.5) | 13 (10.5) | 0.000 | |||||
| You would dispense antibiotics for an off-label indication due to false bombardment of information? | 82 (24.2) | 42 (33.9) | 0.113 | |||||
MR, medical representative.