An Empirical Study on the Impact of Government Programs on Consumer Acceptance of Generic Medicines in Hyderabad City

Abstract

The Government of India has been fostering generic drugs in initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) using the aim of ensuring affordability and quality healthcare. Although Janaushadhi Kendras have proliferated at the urban centres, the issue of consumer attitude to generic medicines is still influenced by the price perception, quality, availability, and confidence in government certification. The research is a pure empirical study on the effects of government programs on consumer adoption of generic medicines among 420 interviewees in Hyderabad city conducted using a structured questionnaire that was measured on a five-point Likert scale. Cronbachs alpha was used to determine reliability of the research instrument with all constructs having above acceptable levels of 0.70. The multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the government program awareness, perceived price advantage, perceived quality assurance, and trust in government certification were significant predictors of consumer acceptance of generic medicines as grouped than accessibility of outlets, thus the grouped dependent variables accounted 62.2 percent of the variance. Results of one-way ANOVA and independent samples t-test indicated that there were no statistically significant difference in acceptance of generic medicines based on gender, age group, income, and education level, implying that the level of acceptance of generic medicines was relatively similar among demographic groups within the study area. The results highlight the emphasis of trust-building and communication focused on awareness that is based on the underlying importance of promoting the effect of generic medicine programs by governments, and the article presents some recommendations on policy relevant measures that can be applied in the effectiveness of such programs in urban Indian markets.