Diri E Gloria and Ighedose O Lucky*

Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author: Ighedose O Lucky, Department of Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa, Baylesa State, Nigeria.

Received: May 02, 2024; Published: June 14, 2024

Abstract

Use of banned medicines has been on the increase in recent times. The effects have been widespread in a much negative proportion especially for youths, who are the leaders of tomorrow. The objective of this study was to investigate factors responsible for the prevalent use of banned medicines in Yenagoa metropolis, Bayelsa State capital, Nigeria. The study was a descriptive survey. The population were the residents of Yenagoa metropolis between ages 10 and 45. A total of 166 sample size was determined by using Cochran’s formula for cluster sampling technique. Questionnaires were administered to obtain data for the study. Spearman Rank Correlation formula was adopted in analyzing the data at 95% confidence interval level. The result revealed that, the prevalent use of banned medicines in Yenagoa metropolis was positively and significantly correlated to physical and physiological dependence of users of these medicines (r = +0.862), economic benefits of the dealers of these medicines (r= +0.913); and corrupt officers of the government agencies in charge of drug laws (r = +0.988). It is recommended that the Ministry of Health and the NDLEA should embark on vigorous enlightenment via mass media on the dangers of and punishment for utilization of banned medicines. The Government should engage unemployed persons with social empowerment programmes to discourage them from indulging in illegal business dealings like purchase and distribution of banned medicines within the metropolis, and indeed, the country at large.

 Keywords: Banned Medicines; Prevalence; Physiological Dependence; Economic Benefits and Corrupt Officers

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Citation

Citation: Diri E Gloria and Ighedose O Lucky. “Prevalent Use of Banned Medicines in Yenagoa Metropolis, Bayelsa State, Nigeria”.Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 8.7 (2024): 114-120.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Diri E Gloria and Ighedose O Lucky. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.