Background: The use of psychotropic substances is controlled in most parts of the world due to their potential of abuse and addiction. Diazepam is one of the psychotropic substances which can be dispensed in community pharmacies in Tanzania. As per good dispensing practices and pharmacy laws, diazepam in the community pharmacies should strictly be stored in a controlled box and dispensed only by prescription. However, to our understanding little had been reported on availability and dispensing practices of diazepam in Tanzania.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study which involved 178 randomly selected registered community pharmacies in Kinondoni district was conducted from January to March 2018. Simulated client approach was used to assess the availability and dispensers practice about dispensing of diazepam. Location of pharmacies was categorized as being at the centre or periphery of the Kinondoni district. Chi-squared test was used for the analysis of categorical data using SPSS version 23. The p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant.
Result: The total of 178 community pharmacies were visited, the majority of the dispensers (89.1%) encountered were female. Most (69.1%) of the studied pharmacies were located at the centre of Kinondoni district. Diazepam was available in 91% of community pharmacies and 70% of dispensers issued diazepam without prescription.
Conclusion: Diazepam was available in most of the community pharmacies in Kinondoni district, and the majority of the dispensers dispensed diazepam without prescription. This calls for the regulatory authorities to be more vigilant on the availability of diazepam and enhance the provision of ethical pharmacy practice in the community pharmacies.
Keywords: Benzodiazepine; Community pharmacy and; Diazepam; Dispensing practice.