Evaluative study on the Botikang Barangay Project in Pampanga Province / Monet M. Loquias, Roderick L. Salenga

In the Philippines, hundreds of community-managed drugstores known as Botika ng Barangay (Bnb) were opened with the expectation that they will ensure availability and accessibility of essential drugs to the undeserved communities. However, the success of these outlets has yet to be established. Using the province of Pampanga as the setting, this study aimed at documenting the performance of these outlets in making medicines affordable, available and accessible. This paper also describe Bnb outlets' sustainability of operations and quality of services. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted using records, review, interview and survey. A total of 15 operators, two supervising pharmacists and 321 households were covered by the study. Results showed that all sectors agreed that the program was able to meet its objectives in making medicines more available and affordable. Quality of service was percieved to be very satisfactory, but certain areas such as operators' drug knowledge and counseling skills need improvement. Despite suboptimal growth, majority of the outlets have demonstrated ability to continue operations with minimal earnings. Issues needed to be addressed include drug managament system inefficiency, absence of standardized program for operators, and sustainability of operations.

General Education.