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Bakare AA, Salako J, King C, Olojede OE, Bakare D, Olasupo O, Burgess R, McCollum ED, Colbourn T, Falade AG, Molsted-Alvesson H, Graham HR. 'Let him die in peace': understanding caregiver's refusal of medical oxygen treatment for children in Nigeria. BMJ Glob Health 2024; 9:e014902. [PMID: 38760025 PMCID: PMC11103205 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Efforts to improve oxygen access have focused mainly on the supply side, but it is important to understand demand barriers, such as oxygen refusal among caregivers. We therefore aimed to understand caregiver, community and healthcare provider (HCP) perspectives and experiences of medical oxygen treatments and how these shape oxygen acceptance among caregivers of sick children in Lagos and Jigawa states, which are two contrasting settings in Nigeria. METHODS Between April 2022 and January 2023, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study using reflexive thematic analysis, involving semistructured interviews with caregivers (Jigawa=18 and Lagos=7), HCPs (Jigawa=7 and Lagos=6) and community group discussions (Jigawa=4 and Lagos=5). We used an inductive-deductive approach to identify codes and themes through an iterative process using the theoretical framework of acceptability and the normalisation process theory as the analytic lens. RESULTS Medical oxygen prescription was associated with tension, characterised by fear of death, hopelessness about a child's survival and financial distress. These were driven by community narratives around oxygen, past negative experiences and contextual differences between both settings. Caregiver acceptance of medical oxygen was a sense-making process from apprehension and scepticism about their child's survival chances to positioning prescribed oxygen as an 'appropriate' or 'needed' intervention. Achieving this transition occurred through various means, such as trust in HCPs, a perceived sense of urgency for care, previous positive experience of oxygen use and a symbolic perception of oxygen as a technology. Misconceptions and pervasive negative narratives were acknowledged in Jigawa, while in Lagos, the cost was a major reason for oxygen refusal. CONCLUSION Non-acceptance of medical oxygen treatment for sick children is modifiable in the Nigerian context, with the root causes of refusal being contextually specific. Therefore, a one-size-fits-all policy is unlikely to work. Financial constraints and community attitudes should be addressed in addition to improving client-provider interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayobami Adebayo Bakare
- Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Community Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Julius Salako
- Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Carina King
- Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Omotayo E Olojede
- Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Damola Bakare
- Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Olabisi Olasupo
- Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Rochelle Burgess
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Eric D McCollum
- Global Program in Pediatric Respiratory Sciences, Eudowood Division of Pediatric Respiratory Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Tim Colbourn
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Adegoke G Falade
- Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Ibadan College of Medicine, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | | | - Hamish R Graham
- Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
- Centre for International Child Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, University of Melbourne, MCRI, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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Faiva E, Hashim HT, Ramadhan MA, Musa SK, Bchara J, Tuama YD, Adebisi YA, Kadhim MH, Essar MY, Ahmad S, Lucero-Prisno DE. Drug supply shortage in Nigeria during COVID-19: efforts and challenges. J Pharm Policy Pract 2021; 14:17. [PMID: 33482871 PMCID: PMC7820524 DOI: 10.1186/s40545-021-00302-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in massive disruptions in global supply chains. Nigeria is particularly vulnerable with respect to pharmaceuticals since there is reduced local production and about 70% of the drug supply is imported creating a huge supply-demand disparity particularly in times like COVID-19. Nigeria is in need of huge quantities of quality-assured health commodities to effectively respond to the pandemic. Significant shortages of other essential medicines and medical products across the country could be imminent. Drug scarcity in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic period is because of several accumulated factors, majorly as a result of global lockdown, decreased manufacturing, unaddressed regulatory affairs, poor access to resources by the population, lack of buffer stocks, security instability, and poor funding of the healthcare system. This situation if left unattended, could cause serious drawbacks to the health of the populace as well as the quality of life of Nigerians amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. Appropriate measures should be directed to ensure ethical processes on drug production, importation, pricing, and distribution to avoid such events during unavoidable scenarios, like the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Faiva
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
| | | | | | | | - John Bchara
- Faculty of Medicine, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria
| | | | | | | | - Mohammad Yasir Essar
- Medical Research Center, Kateb University, Kabul, Afghanistan
- Kabul University of Medical Sciences, Kabul, Afghanistan
| | | | - Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno
- Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Faculty of Management and Development Studies, University of the Philippines (Open University), Los Banos, Laguna Philippines
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