18-4
Giving medicine can easily become a substitute for giving personal
interest and concern-especially when long lines of people are waiting. You
may want to show your students a picture like the one above, or have them
act out the scene in a role play. Then let them figure out how the situation
might be handled better (the table, the medicines on display, the waiting
people, the white uniform, etc.).
HELPING HEALTH WORKERS LEARN
ABOUT THE MISUSE OF MEDICINE IN THEIR AREA
If health workers are to help stop the overuse and misuse of medicines, they
must understand the problem clearly and recognize its cost to human health.
But it is not enough simply to give them information. They need to find out for
themselves just how serious the problem is in their own area. And they need
to learn ways to help inform the people who come to them ‘for medicine’.
1. Finding out the extent of the problem
Perhaps you can help health workers to compare their own experiences or take
simple surveys. They can investigate questions like these:
How many prescription
medicines do people
in the community buy
and use without a
prescription?
In Mexico, a group of health workers-in-training made a survey
in 5 pharmacies in a nearby city. They found that nearly 80%
of prescription drugs were sold without prescription. Perhaps
your students can conduct a similar survey.
How often do doctors
prescribe too many
medicines or the
wrong medicine?
Often people come to a health center with prescriptions from
doctors in other places. With the help of instructors, students
can keep a record of how many prescriptions appear to be
incorrect or overdone. (For most health problems, 1 or 2
medicines are enough.)