DETERMINANTS OF QUALITY STANDARDS ADHERENCE IN DISTRIBUTION OF COLD CHAIN PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS IN KENYA
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate determinants of quality standards adherence in distribution of cold chain pharmaceutical products in Kenya. The study was undertaken in 16 selected pharmaceutical companies operating within Nairobi County. Data was obtained from employees of the pharmaceutical companies through purposeful sampling technique. Descriptive statistics revealed that employee of pharmaceutical firms were adequately experienced, storage conditions were not strictly up to standard, packaging adequately conformed to requirements and transportation faced some challenges like traffic congestions and transport facilities. The correlation procedure revealed that staff qualification, storage conditions, packaging and transportation were each positively correlated with quality of medicine in the Nairobi County. Through linear regression procedure, these four factors collectively accounted for 58% of the total variation in quality of medicine in the County. Packaging and labeling of medicine had the highest contribution to quality of medicine. It was thus recommended that pharmaceutical companies should strictly embrace packaging technology with accurate clear labeling of medicine. Repackaging activities and labeling practices should be at the health companies’ desire to provide quality medicine. They should also keep on recruiting and retaining high quality and skilled employees within the industry. Ensure that already existing storage facilities were fully functional through equipping the maintenance and repairs departments. Pharmaceutical firms should strategize to provide quality medicine by ensuring that adequate resources were channeled to transportation section. They should also improve the road traffic conditions to passable state such that they do not compromise the distribution of pharmaceutical products in the country. Based on the time limitation of the current study; it was sensible that another similar study be carried that covers more other firms in other towns in Kenya.
Key terms: Cold chain, Distribution chain, Distribution, Good Distribution Practices (GDP), Good Warehousing Practice (GWP), Quality Management Systems, Temperature
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v4i4.582
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