Volume 61, Issue 338, May - August 2025

Knowledge Awareness and Perception of Staff and Patients of Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital Calabar towards Drug Mobile Authentication Service

Nianglong Kenneth Kyegwim^1♦, Buzugbe Nicholas Chukwuka², Ibrahim Yusuf Khalil³, Ado Hamza Gashua⁴

¹Nigerian Defence Academy Hospital, Afaka, Kaduna State, Nigeria
²Headquarters Eastern Naval Command, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria
³Headquarters Logistics Command, Oghara, Delta State, Nigeria
⁴College of Health Sciences, Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria

^♦Corresponding Author
Nigerian Defence Academy Hospital, Afaka, Kaduna State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Drug Mobile Authentication Service (DMAS) was launched in Nigeria by the post-marketing and Pharmaco-vigilance unit of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to put the power of checking the originality of products in the hands of consumers. DMAS is demonstrated to be easy, simple, and accessible to all categories of individuals. The hospital setting has a large number of prescribers, dispensing staff, counselors, and patients, who are basically the users of DMAS. Hence, this research is aimed at assessing the knowledge, awareness, and perception of staff and patients within a hospital setting towards the relevance, reliability, and effectiveness of DMAS using the Navy Reference Hospital Calabar, Nigeria. Method: The study is a survey design that employed cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical means. 680 (patients and staff) from the Navy Reference Hospital Calabar, Nigeria, were used. An open-ended questionnaire structured on a 5-point Likert scale was used as an instrument for data collection. The questionnaires are administered within 6 months in the various clinics and departments of the Hospital; the Data obtained is presented as descriptive statistics. Regression analysis is utilized to find out the relationship between DMAS and Perceived awareness, Usefulness, Role, Reliability, Usage, and Convenience. Results: A total of 680 patients and staff questionnaires were analyzed, out of which 52.2% account for the majority of the 25-35 age group. Most respondents were females, 475 (69.9%), and the majority possess a tertiary qualification (79.4%). Over 74% were employed, and Christianity was the dominant religion, representing 92.6%. 79% utilized DMAS. The reliability of each variable was computed using Cronbach's Alpha. From the computation, all the variables demonstrate acceptable values (>0.70). A bad network was the primary reason for not using DMAS 166(25%). R2= 0.728, the coefficient of the constant term is 3.656, and the associated t-value is 16.905. The regression coefficient is 0.421. The value of Durbin Watson (DW) is 1.952, indicating that there is no evidence of serial. correlation. Conclusion: Drug mobile authentication service is a valuable and reliable tool to verify the genuineness of drugs from manufacturers; it plays a vital role in fighting against drug faking and counterfeiting drugs when utilized efficiently. Majorities are highly aware of the use of DMAS, and they conveniently use such a service to check the authenticity of drugs. However, a major challenge to the use of DMAS was a bad network. Educating the public about the use and importance of DMAS can help curb such problems.

Keywords: Reliability, Drug, Mobile Service, Authentication, Phamarco-vigilance

Discovery, 2025, 61, e17d3113

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v61i338.e17d3113

Published: 19 May 2025