FIELD-TESTS FOR RATIONAL DRUG-USE IN 12 DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES

Increasing efforts are being made to improve drug-use practices and pr escribing behaviour in developing countries. An essential tool for suc h work is an objective and standard method of assessment. We present h ere a set of drug-use indicators produced and tested in twelve develop ing countries. We describe practical applications, which include the u se of indicators to increase awareness among prescribers in Malawi and Bangladesh, to identify priorities for action (eg, polypharmacy in In donesia and Nigeria, overuse of injections in Uganda, Sudan, and Niger ia, and low percentage of patients who understood the dosage schedule in Malawi), and to quantify the impact of interventions in Yemen, Ugan da, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.