Conhecimento, aceitação e utilização dos medicamentos genéricos após 12 anos da sua entrada no mercado: uma avaliação de base populacional no sul do Brasil.

Abstract

Generics are sold in Brazil since 1999 and have been occupying a growing share of the market. A study after generic entry in the domestic market (2002) (Bertoldi et al. 2005) showed to be low the prevalence of generics use and the difficulty by the population to differentiate generic medicines from others available in the market (brands). After more than a decade of generics in the Brazilian market and the immense publicity from the Ministry of Health about the authenticity of these, it is important to understand how has been the knowledge, acceptance and use of these drugs by the population, and what are the factors that may be associated with the preference for the use of generic drugs in order to focus the efforts on these points of government campaigns aimed at extending the use of generic drugs as a way to increase access to medicines. Thus, this thesis evaluated the perception, knowledge and use of generic drugs and the factors associated with the preference for the use of these drugs in the city of Pelotas. As a first approach, it was evaluated the evolution of perception, knowledge and use of generic drugs between 2002 and 2012. Therefore, there were used two transversal population-based studies conducted in 2002 and 2012. It was observed a significant increase in the prevalence of the use of generic in the 10-year period (3.6% in 2002 to 26.1 % in 2012). The perception of price and quality of these drugs has remained stable, the identification of characteristics that differentiate them apart from medicines improved (p <0.001) and the error of similar drug classification as generic decreased (p <0.001). Another evaluation carried out was to determine factors associated with preference for buying generic drugs. Therefore, it was used the data from the study conducted in 2012 with a sample of 2856 adults. This showed that 63.2% (95% CI 61.4% -64.9) prefer buying generic and the main factors associated with purchasing preference were male [relative risk (PR) = 1.08, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.14], aged between 20-39 years old (PR = 1.10, CI95% 1.02 to 1.20), low socioeconomic status (PR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.03 - 1.28) and good knowledge about generic drugs (PR = 4.66, 95% CI 2.89 to 7.52). This thesis also reviewed the quality and impact of interventions to promote the use of generic drugs. Among the analyzed studies, the intervention most commonly used was educational, however, it is interesting to note the lack of study with robust methodology for assessing the impact. In summary, this thesis highlights the advances of generic drug policy, allowing greater access to medicines, but this policy can be expanded, especially taking into account that knowledge and positive perception of generics are important factors for choosing this product. For this, educational campaigns to encourage prescription using Brazilian Common Denomination seems to be the best strategy.