Abstract

Medication Counseling Practice in Ethiopia, a Systematic Review

Background: Patient counselling is one of the most important services conducted by drug dispensers. The aim of this review was to derive results from various studies conducted on medication counselling in Ethiopia and make an overall view about medication counselling activities, types of information provided during counselling, conditions given special attention during counselling and barriers to counselling in Ethiopia. Methods: Relevant literatures related to medication counselling practice in Ethiopia were obtained from Pub Med and Google Scholar databases and manual Google search. Some articles were also obtained by searching the reference lists of retrieved articles. Systemic analysis was made on 6 articles and the results were summarized. Results: Five of the articles reviewed were conducted by using self-administered questionnaire while one was done through face to face interview and observation. Dose, frequency and route of administration of the drug were very frequently (>90%) delivered to the patient while the name and the purpose of the medication was less frequently told. special attention was given by majority of the dispensers to pregnant women (86.8%)and patients with hypertension (78.2%). Lack of knowledge and updated drug information (61.3%) and presence of high patient load (45.3%) were the most frequently mentioned barriers for counselling. Conclusion: Even though there are many things to be told to the patient/client while dispensing a medication the counselling activities conducted in Ethiopia were not far more than telling when and how much to take. Lack of knowledge and presence of high patient load were the commonly mentioned obstacles for providing appropriate counselling.