Contextual and individual factors influencing the purchase of street medicines in Burkina Faso: Qualitative analysis and implications for public health
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Abstract
This article analyzes the contextual and individual factors that influence the purchase of street medicines (SM) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Through a qualitative methodology based on semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the author highlights the importance of the socio-economic context, institutional weakness, precariousness, as well as the negative perception of official health structures. The results reveal that poverty, limited access to healthcare, the complacency of authorities, and the lack of trust in the health system encourage the use of SM. The study identifies several consumer profiles, emphasizing that the purchase of these products is rooted in a complex social, cultural, and economic dynamic. Official awareness campaigns appear to be ineffective, due to widespread distrust of governmental motivations. The author calls for an integrated approach, combining improved access to official healthcare, restoration of trust, and consideration of local realities, to effectively combat this phenomenon. The purchase of street medicines in Burkina Faso is the result of an interaction between economic precariousness, institutional dysfunctions, and individual perceptions. Only holistic strategies, combining the fight against poverty, strengthening of the health system, and adapted communication, will allow for the lasting containment of this phenomenon.
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