Online pharmacy shopping in Southern Vietnam: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Objectives With the rapid internet development, online pharmacy shopping has become a popular activity worldwide. Nevertheless, limited studies have reported this issue in Vietnam. Thus, this research explored the prevalence, associated factors, attitudes, behaviors, and satisfaction related to online pharmaceutical purchasing among customers in Southern Vietnam, as well as to predict factors associated with online pharmacy use. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from June to September 2022 in the southern provinces of Vietnam. Participants were recruited from public health-related Facebook groups via a self-administered questionnaire link. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. Key findings Out of 557 survey respondents, 38.2% reported having purchased pharmaceuticals online, with dietary supplements (82.2%) being the most bought products. The respondents who were >25 years old (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.527; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.002–6.372), having prior online shopping experience for non-pharmaceutical consumer products (aOR = 3.076; 95% CI: 1.252–7.561), and possessing positive attitude toward online pharmacy shopping (aOR = 2.886; 95% CI: 2.027–4.110), were more likely to purchase online pharmaceuticals. A quarter of respondents reported experiencing adverse effects from the products bought online (25.8%). Additionally, compared with the traditional pharmacy, the respondents were more satisfied with the product diversity (77%) but less satisfied with the consultancy activities (44.6%) when buying drugs online. Conclusions The study revealed that purchasing pharmaceutical products online was somewhat common among the survey participants, which highlights the need for improved consultancy activities in online pharmacies in Vietnam.