Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices and demand-side interventions for combating substandard and falsified medicines: a scoping review

Background: The proliferation of substandard and falsified medical products (SFM) poses a significant threat to public health globally. Despite rigorous surveillance and law enforcement efforts, risk of exposure to SFM is on the rise, notably through online pharmacies. The current interventions predominantly target the pharmaceutical supply chains through legal and regulatory frameworks, while there is a noticeable deficiency in focusing on interventions for healthcare providers and consumers. This scoping review aims to summarise the current literature on SFM, focusing on their health and economic consequences, and to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare providers and the general public. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases, focusing on studies from the past 15 years that provided estimates on mortality, morbidities and economic impacts of SFM and covered the following topic areas: knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare providers, patients and general public; and population level interventions regarding SFM. We exclude non-peer-reviewed literature. Results: A total of 78 studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. These studies suggest that the data on adverse effects on health and economic impact of SF medicines are predominantly based on statistical models, and empirical data are grossly lacking. Knowledge of risks, identification of SFM, and reporting to regulatory authorities are substantially low among healthcare providers and general public. Discussion: This review highlights the need for innovative, targeted strategies–such as digital health interventions, enhanced training programs for healthcare providers, and context-specific public awareness campaigns–to bridge the gap between awareness and effective practice. Conclusions: Our study underscores that a multifaceted approach must not only reinforce regulatory frameworks and surveillance systems for protecting the supply chains but also proactively empower both health providers and consumers to identify and combat SFM in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.