Abstract

delivery in the management of essential medicines. The study was based on a stratified random sample of size 135 health facilities scattered across the Province of Limpopo. Stratification was done by health district. Data was collected by using a structured, pretested and validated questionnaire of study. Criteria set out by Fauci (2008) and the World Health Organisation (Mendis, Fukino, Cameron, Laing, Filipe Jr, Khatib, Leowski & Ewen, 2007) were used as benchmark for the assessment of quality of services. The results showed that standards followed for storing and dispensing essential medicines were inadequate in 100 of the 135 health facilities that took part in the study (74.07%), whereas the standards followed for storing and dispensing essential medicines were adequate in 35 of the 135 health facilities (25.93%) that were selected for the study. Results obtained from binary logistic regression analysis showed that adherence to WHO standards on the proper management of essential medicines at health facilities was influenced by 3 factors. These 3 predictor variables of study were: adherence to recruitment policy, taking inventory of essential medicines regularly, and the availability of adequate storage facility for essential medicines, in a decreasing order of strength