Introduction: Faced with the growing phenomenon of urbanization and the need to adapt health services to the urban context, this article describes the catchment area and the profile of the patient who attended the two urban medical health centers (CSMU) set up, as part of an action research, in the city of Goma, Eastern Democratic Republic of (DRC). Methods: This is a retrospective observational study based on registry and patient record data from April 2019 to December 2021. Data collected on tablets were analyzed using statistical software STATA 14.1. Results: 14.433 patients attended both CSMUs during the period. Both CSMUs experienced attraction beyond the health areas of implantation (26.7%). The profile of the patient is predominantly female (62.3%), educated (70.5% graduated at least in the humanities), adult (44.9% aged 18 to 49), registered with the CSMU in 19.6% of cases. The reason for consultations is dominated by infectious (55.2%) and parasitic (10.6%) diseases, followed by chronic diseases (26.9%) and trauma (2.6%) (p <0.001). In more than 90% of cases, the care involves 3 different skills (medical, nurses and social worker) of the multidisciplinary team. Discussion and Conclusion: The catchment area and patient profile found show the interest of rethinking the way urban health services are organized in order to better meet the expectations of urban populations.
Background: Global action plans to tackle antimicrobial resistance include implementation of antimicrobial stewardship, but little is known about the dispensing practices of antibiotics of community pharmacists in low and middle-income countries. In this study, we aim to assess the dispensing of antibiotics for paediatric use in pharmacies in the City of Goma, capital of North Kivu province.Method: Between June and December 2017, we performed a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey with pharmacy managers about antibiotic dispensing to the paediatric population.Result: Among a total of 225 pharmacies identified, 84% were managed by nurses. 70% of pharmacy managers had absolved secondary school. Only 10% of pharmacies were owned by pharmacists or physicians. 76% of antibiotics for children were prescribed after families asking for them and only 21% after a recommendation from the pharmacy manager. Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid was the most commonly dispensed antibiotic - 78% cases. 81% of pharmacy managers had no supervision by a pharmacist from the pharmacy division. There was no significant difference in requiring or not between a physician prescription to deliver antibiotics in children and the qualifications of pharmacy managers (P=0. 28), their level of school education (P=0.42).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that there is a lack of regulation and consistency in the approach to dispensing antibiotics in children. A policy is needed to regulate the dispensing of antibiotics along with education and training to reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance.