Assessing the Usage of Mobile Authentication Service on Pharmaceutical Drugs by Residents of Abuja Municipal Area Council, Nigeria

Background: Mobile phones serve as veritable tools for disseminating information to individuals on different issues including health. They have features of being portable, simple and flexible and are used for many things, amongst which are voice calls and text messaging. The adoption of mobile phones for health service delivery has attracted the attention of scholars, observers, and government and private organisations in Nigeria. Resulting from the prevalence of fake drugs, Nigerians have had serious complications such as mass poisoning, chronic diseases and some records of death, hence the deployment of Mobile Authentication Service (MAS); a technology by NAFDAC to help check the authenticity of drugs at the point of purchase. Objective: To investigative awareness and usage of MAS by residents of Abuja Municipal Area Council. Method: The study adopted descriptive survey method with questionnaire as the instrument for data collection from a sample of 384 respondents using multistage sampling technique. Result: The findings show high (26.8%) level of awareness among the respondents and they got to know about MAS majorly from the media (conventional and social media). Also, majority (30.5%) of the respondents use MAS to authenticate drugs. Conclusion: The study concluded that MAS is a good and relevant innovation that should be used to provide better services when checking the authenticity of drug. Unique contribution: The study contributes in filling the literature gap regarding the use of MAS especially by residents of Abuja Municipal Area Council. It provides insights for future rsearch on mobile health technology. Key recommendation: Government and other stakeholders should appreciate the importance of engaging MAS in health service delivery by providing all the necessary steps.