ABSTRACT:
Despite the absence of prohibiting legal norms in Russia, pharmaceutical workers often refuse to sell over-the-counter medicines to teenagers, guided by the unspoken rules of the pharmacy or the internal moral and ethical code. The purpose of this study was to identify and assess the main types of risks faced by pharmaceutical workers when dispensing medicines to teenagers. The assessment and identification of risks were carried out using the Delphi methods and a questionnaire in which 186 respondents took part (the representativeness of the sample was calculated using the statistical method). The probability of occurrence of risks and the degree of criticality of the consequences of the risk was assessed. The experts stated that the most likely event would be a teenager buying the wrong medicine (a medicine other than the one that the teenager or the persons who asked them to buy it were planning to obtain), with a different trade name, dosage, or formulation, followed by a possible conflict with the child's representatives with a request to return or exchange the medicine. Besides, highly probable events include the use of information obtained from unverified sources, including peer advice and information obtained from social networks, by the teenager. The experts named the purchase of medicines by teenagers for self-poisoning the most critical risk factor. The experts considered the risk of using psychoactive substances an event with a high degree of consequences. The experts considered the improper use of medicines by teenagers to be the least risky event. The risks were ranked using a risk matrix by the following categories: negligible, acceptable, moderate, significant, and unacceptable.