Medical and pharmacy students' knowledge and perceptions about generic medicines in Bangladesh

Abstract

Objective: To explore medical and pharmacy students' knowledge and perception towards the use of generic medicines in Bangladesh. Method: A convenience sample was drawn from six Bangladeshi universities/medical colleges using an 18-item questionnaire. A total of n=398 pharmacy and medical students were approached to participate. Scoring of responses was done for the 10 items in the perception section (score range 0-10). Data was analysed using SPSS version 13 and the difference among the groups were estimated using independent samples t-test. Results: A total of 346 students willingly participated in this study, which amounted to a response rate of 86.93%. About 85.5% of the respondents indicated that they had heard about generic and branded medicines. From both groups 70-80% were able to distinguish between generic and branded medicines. There were significant differences in knowledge among the pharmacy (4.86±1.55) and medical (4.20±1.62) students (P<0.001, t=3.83, 95% confidence interval 0.323-1.00). Conclusion: Overall, there were knowledge deficits in both groups with a moderate level of perception about generic medicine. © 2013 The Authors. JPHSR © 2013 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.