Awareness level of health risks associated with obtaining health information and products from mobile drug vendors in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the awareness level of health risks associated with obtaining health information and products from Mobile Drug Vendors (MDVs) in Lagos State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to determine which social media platforms MDVs operate frequently, find out the frequency of exposure to accurate health information from MDVs on social media and ascertain the awareness level of health risks associated with obtaining health information products from MDVs. The researchers adopted exploratory research design. The findings showed that an average of 81% of the respondents had seen MDVs post on their different social media platforms. The findings also showed that more MDVs operated from Facebook and WhatsApp when compared to their counterpart with an average percent score of 85 and that more of the respondents were exposed to and received the messages as advertisements from the social media. More so, it was discovered that while more than 72% of the respondents rarely believe the health information of MDVs, more than average of these respondents still feel there is no health risks associated with the patronage of MDVs. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the problem of fake drug proliferation in Nigeria has harmed the trust of the healthcare system, resulting in illness, incapacity and even death for consumers and anyone can be a victim. Thus, it was recommended, among, others, that regulatory measures, including licensing and monitoring of mobile drug vendors, are essential to ensure the provision of accurate information and adherence to appropriate medication practices.