Abstract:

Objective   To conduct a survey and analyze rural residents’ knowledge-attitude-practice about the essential medicine system in Shandong province of China. Methods   Multi-stage stratified and random cluster sampling was employed for questionnaires from 862 rural residents. Results   The validity rate of all questionnaires was 96.52%. 31.25% of the rural residents knew the system, 79.23% thought it was good, and 40.38% preferred to use essential medicines. The rural residents mainly obtained the knowledge about the essential medicine system from television (58.46%), free publicity materials (43.46%) and doctors (35.00%). Conclusion   The rural residents have low awareness of the essential medicine system, so it is necessary to adjust propaganda ways, enhance the communication with stakeholders, and regulate stakeholders’ behavior.

Key words: Rural residents; Essential medicine system; Stakeholder; Knowledge-attitude-practice