The Role of Promotion and Cultural Factors In Doctors' Choice of Brands in Drug Prescriptions

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the Promotional factors and cultural factors that doctors take into account in their choice of brands in prescriptions. The study tool (questionnaire) was distributed to a sample of doctors from the governorates of Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Al-Bireh (from the public, private and civil sectors), and (170) questionnaires were distributed to these doctors, (143) questionnaires were retrieved. The data was analyzed using the SPSS program. The study reached several results, the most important of which is that the total degree of promotional factors that doctors take into account in their selection of brands in prescriptions is a high degree, and the general arithmetic mean of these factors was (3.97) with a relative weight (79.4%) and a standard deviation (0.485) . With regard to the cultural factors that doctors take into account in their choice of brands in prescriptions, the results showed that the overall score is average, and the arithmetic mean was (3.18) with a relative weight (63.6%). The results of the study revealed that the impact of promotional factors is higher than the impact of cultural factors in the choice of brands when writing prescriptions. In light of these results, the study recommends a set of recommendations, the most important of which are: the need for pharmaceutical companies to develop clear plans to ensure that doctors are introduced to their products in the interest of patients in terms of the quality of products and additives that facilitate the process of using these products (medicines), and that these products are offered at reasonable prices, and attention to raising the efficiency of representatives of advertisements and medical advertising through holding training courses, enabling them to use the permitted promotional means in the right ways, and forming committees to coordinate between pharmaceutical companies and the Ministry of Health. The study recommended that pharmaceutical companies activate social responsibility programs (such as supplying pharmaceutical products free of charge or at nominal prices to places threatened by settlement and areas classified as poverty.....). The study recommended promoting attention to the quality of pharmaceutical products and also paying attention to the design and packaging of pharmaceutical products.