Submission ID 118596
| Issue/Objective | Over 150 countries have developed medicines policies rooted in the World Health Organization essential medicines list concept as part of their efforts to ensure access to quality medicines. More than 60% of these countries, however, do not monitor their access to medicines policies using existing global tools due to technical, financial, and time constraints. This study aims to explore experts' perspectives on relevant domains and metrics to measure access to medicines from the perspective of national decision makers. |
|---|---|
| Methodology/Approach | We conducted semi-structured key informant interviews between July - December 2024 with global essential medicines experts. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to recruit stakeholders (n=12) involved with policy design, implementation and monitoring of essential medicines lists and policies, using a maximum variation approach to increase geographical representation. Our interviews focused on learning their perspectives on priorities for measurement implementation of essential medicines policies and, domains and indicators in terms of relevance, utility and feasibility to decision makers interested in measuring access to essential medicines. We applied inductive and deductive coding using framework analysis as described by Ritchie and Lewis to organize our data. |
| Results | Key informants (n=12)had experience working with essential medicines programs in the following World Health Organization Regions: African Region (AFRO, n = 6); Region of the Americas (AMRO, n = 2); South-East Asia Region (SEARO, n = 2); European Region (EURO, n=3), Western Pacific Region (WPRO, n= 1). Stakeholders highlighted aligning global tools to country themes and data challenges due to poor logistic management systems especially in low-and-middle income countries. The main domains identified for measuring impact on access to medicines include: 1). Financing Efficiency; 2). Medicine Selection; 3) Insurance Coverage, 4). Procurement Efficiency; 5). Supply and Distribution Efficiency 6). Regulation and Pricing Strategies and; 7). Generics Market. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | This study is part of broader efforts to develop an instrument to measure access to essential medicines. Current metrics for assessing access could more effectively inform decision-making if they were streamlined to prioritize key policy areas and indicators while accounting for country-specific contexts, capacities, and needs. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Tolu Ojo Institute of Health Policy and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario Camila Heredia St Michaels Hospital, Toronto Ontario Nav Persaud St Michael's Hospital, Toronto Ontario |
