Assessment of Family Planning Referrals by Community Pharmacists and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors in Nigeria: A Mixed Methods Study

Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) are key access points for family planning (FP) services in Nigeria, particularly within communities. However, their limited scope of practice necessitates effective referral linkages to public health facilities. The dataset includes 524 CPs and PPMVs in Kano, Kaduna, Lagos and Nasarawa states, Nigeria who were trained to provide FP services and participated in a cross-sectional survey. The study also used Semi structured IDI guides to obtain information from purposively sampled FP clients who received referrals and FP providers working in public PHC centres in all four states. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, and bivariate analyses were performed to identify factors significantly associated with referral. All statistically significant factors from the bivariate analysis were explored using logistic regression model to predict the odds of referring an FP client. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed and triangulated with survey findings. This study assessed the factors influencing referrals by CPs and PPMVs and explored the perspectives of FP clients and primary health care (PHC) providers on the enablers and challenges affecting the referral process.