Table 5 Perception of youths on the PPMV services and young people’s access to medicines including family planning services
How often do you go to the following as sources of treatment for illness? (never, rarely, occasionally, often, very often) | Mean rating (out of 5-point Likert scale) |
|---|---|
PPMVs | 3.4 |
Hospitals | 2.5 |
Health centres | 2.4 |
Herbalists | 1.8 |
Spiritualists | 1.6 |
To what extent do you agree with the following (strongly disagree, disagree, unsure, agree, strongly agree) | |
(i) PPMVs are the first and often the only point of call for health care services in this rural area | 3.7 |
(ii) PPMVs are easily accessible to the rural dwellers | 4.2 |
(iii) The medicines and drugs sold by the PPMVs are cheaper and more affordable than in hospitals and pharmacies | 3.7 |
(iv) Many PPMVs in this locality sell low quality, expired or sub-standard drug to the rural dwellers | 3.2 |
(v) Many of the PPMVs in this locality do not have the prerequisite training to operate PPMV shops | 3.3 |
(vi) Sale of medicines without prescription is rampant in this locality | 3.8 |
(vii) Dispensing medicines without prescription should not be encouraged | 4.0 |
(viii) Medicines/drugs availability without restriction and control to public is big problem | 3.9 |
(ix) PPMV shop owners and operators generally have low health knowledge about proper treatment for common illnesses, such as malaria and diarrhoea and poor health treatment practices | 3.1 |
How often do you carry out the following? (never, rarely, occasionally, frequently, very frequently) | |
(i) How often do you buy and use family planning products like condoms from PPMVs | 1.7 |
(ii) How often do you buy and use family planning products like oral contraceptives from PPMVs | 1.4 |
(iii) How often do you buy and use family planning products like contraceptives injections | 1.4 |
(iv) How often do you buy and use sexually transmitted infections drugs/medicines from PPMVs | 1.8 |
(v) How often have you being referred to hospitals by PPMVs for family planning related/reproductive health problems to hospitals? | 1.4 |
(vi) How often have you being educated or advised by PPMVs on the options and usage of family planning products? | 1.8 |
(vii) How often do access abortion/post-abortion care services from PPMVs? (For females only) | 1.4 |