Macro environment determinants affecting the availability of artemisinin-based combination therapies in Uganda

Purpose Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) have been developed to treat uncomplicated malaria. However, scanty studies exist to inform the role of macro factors in explaining the nonavailability of ACT in developing countries. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the different macro-environment factors affecting the availability of ACTs in the public hospital setting. Design/methodology/approach This study applied a quantitative methodological approach and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test hypotheses statistically. SEM examines linear causal relationships among variables while accounting for measurement error. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess model reliability. CFA and SEM were used to determine the shared variance-covariance of variables, define the latent construct and provide a more precise way to account for the error variances associated with the variables, which, if untested, could lead to biased parameter estimates. This was guided by the data collected from 40 general public hospitals with 283 respondents. Findings This study’s results support a model for promoting social-cultural, technological and legal factors. The availability of ACTs is significantly affected by legal factors. Improving legal aspects by a unit can enhance ACT availability by 0.59. Political factors scored the least, and they do not influence the availability of malaria drugs. Research limitations/implications The design was quantitative and cross-sectional. Future research could be longitudinal with a mixed-method approach and consider other external stakeholders. Practical implications Reducing the impact of the nonavailability of antimalarial drugs in general public hospitals requires a holistic concerted and coordinated supply chain approach that tackles the political, economic, social-cultural norms, technological and legal factors. Originality/value The authors develop and test a model using macro factors: political, economic, social, cultural, technological and legal factors. This model is relevant for many developing countries to supply chain coordination perpetually experiencing medicine shortages.