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Household Drug Stockpiling and Panic Buying of Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study From Jordan.
Front Pharmacol. 2021; 12:813405.FP

Abstract

The coronavirus disease that emerged in 2019 (COVID-19) has affected health, societies and economies. Policies that have been imposed by different countries to slow the spread of the disease, including national lockdowns, curfews, border closures and enforcement of social distancing measures have disturbed the drug supply chain and resulted in drug shortages. Uncertainty concerning the pandemic has also led to the panic buying of drugs and the stockpiling of drugs in households, which has amplified the problem. In this cross-sectional study, a self-developed questionnaire was distributed online in order to a) assess the practice of household drug stockpiling prior to the national lockdown in Jordan, b) investigate the factors affecting it and c) measure peoples' knowledge about the consequences of this behaviour. Results from this study show that drug purchasing was reported by 44.3% of the participants and was most common among participants from non-medical backgrounds (336, 75.7%) or those who have chronic diseases (261, 58.8%) and taking chronic supplements (282, 63.5%) regardless of their age, gender, living area or the possession of health insurance. Analgesics and antipyretics were the most frequently purchased drugs (225, 70.5%) and anticipation of their need was the most common reason for purchasing drugs (231, 52.0%). Buyers were also less aware, when compared to non-buyers, that panic buying and drug stockpiling may lead to drug shortages (204, 45.9% vs 325, 58.1%) and that this behaviour can pose a health hazard, especially to children (221, 47.5% vs 342, 61.2%). Our study shows that panic buying of drugs and household drug stockpiling were common in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic and this was related to participants' medical knowledge and educational backgrounds. Therefore, educating the general population regarding rational drug use is urgently needed. This is also a compelling case for the development of national guidelines for drug management that target the general population and healthcare personnel, especially pharmacists, to avoid drug shortages during crises.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Al-Balqa Applied University, As-Salt, Jordan.Pharmacological and Diagnostic Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan.Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Al-Balqa Applied University, As-Salt, Jordan.Independent Researcher, Amman, Jordan.

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

35002744

Citation

Al Zoubi, Sura, et al. "Household Drug Stockpiling and Panic Buying of Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Study From Jordan." Frontiers in Pharmacology, vol. 12, 2021, p. 813405.
Al Zoubi S, Gharaibeh L, Jaber HM, et al. Household Drug Stockpiling and Panic Buying of Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study From Jordan. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:813405.
Al Zoubi, S., Gharaibeh, L., Jaber, H. M., & Al-Zoubi, Z. (2021). Household Drug Stockpiling and Panic Buying of Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study From Jordan. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 813405. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.813405
Al Zoubi S, et al. Household Drug Stockpiling and Panic Buying of Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Study From Jordan. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:813405. PubMed PMID: 35002744.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Household Drug Stockpiling and Panic Buying of Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study From Jordan. AU - Al Zoubi,Sura, AU - Gharaibeh,Lobna, AU - Jaber,Hatim M, AU - Al-Zoubi,Zaha, Y1 - 2021/12/22/ PY - 2021/11/11/received PY - 2021/12/06/accepted PY - 2022/1/10/entrez PY - 2022/1/11/pubmed PY - 2022/1/11/medline KW - COVID-19 KW - Jordan KW - drug management KW - drug shortages KW - drug stockpiling KW - lockdown KW - panic buying SP - 813405 EP - 813405 JF - Frontiers in pharmacology JO - Front Pharmacol VL - 12 N2 - The coronavirus disease that emerged in 2019 (COVID-19) has affected health, societies and economies. Policies that have been imposed by different countries to slow the spread of the disease, including national lockdowns, curfews, border closures and enforcement of social distancing measures have disturbed the drug supply chain and resulted in drug shortages. Uncertainty concerning the pandemic has also led to the panic buying of drugs and the stockpiling of drugs in households, which has amplified the problem. In this cross-sectional study, a self-developed questionnaire was distributed online in order to a) assess the practice of household drug stockpiling prior to the national lockdown in Jordan, b) investigate the factors affecting it and c) measure peoples' knowledge about the consequences of this behaviour. Results from this study show that drug purchasing was reported by 44.3% of the participants and was most common among participants from non-medical backgrounds (336, 75.7%) or those who have chronic diseases (261, 58.8%) and taking chronic supplements (282, 63.5%) regardless of their age, gender, living area or the possession of health insurance. Analgesics and antipyretics were the most frequently purchased drugs (225, 70.5%) and anticipation of their need was the most common reason for purchasing drugs (231, 52.0%). Buyers were also less aware, when compared to non-buyers, that panic buying and drug stockpiling may lead to drug shortages (204, 45.9% vs 325, 58.1%) and that this behaviour can pose a health hazard, especially to children (221, 47.5% vs 342, 61.2%). Our study shows that panic buying of drugs and household drug stockpiling were common in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic and this was related to participants' medical knowledge and educational backgrounds. Therefore, educating the general population regarding rational drug use is urgently needed. This is also a compelling case for the development of national guidelines for drug management that target the general population and healthcare personnel, especially pharmacists, to avoid drug shortages during crises. SN - 1663-9812 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/35002744/Household_Drug_Stockpiling_and_Panic_Buying_of_Drugs_During_the_COVID_19_Pandemic:_A_Study_From_Jordan_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -