Generic medications are cost-effective without compromising therapeutic outcomes. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate, using a cross-sectional study design, the factors influencing Saudi Arabian consumers' preferences between innovator and generic medications. This cross-sectional study was carried out in Saudi Arabia using a Google survey form. For data collection, a simple random sampling strategy was used. The recruited participants were surveyed using a validated questionnaire that focused on six influencing domains: physician, pharmacist, perceived effectiveness, price, information availability, and confidence based on prior experience. The obtained data was used to analyze factors that have an association with any of the six domains using multinomial regression analysis. A correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between domains. The 317 participants included 64.4 % females, 52 % aged ≥ 26, and a large proportion of Saudi nationals (82.6 %) and university graduates (78.9 %). Being employed (OR:3.029; P = 0.006; CI: 6.715–1.366), a healthcare providers (OR:2.298; P = 0.043; CI: 5.151–1.025), and having insurance coverage (OR:1.908; P = 0.017; CI: 3.245–1.122) had a greater influence on medication selection. Participants with linguistic and business educational backgrounds (OR:3.443; P = 0.022; CI: 9.950–1.191), those living in the northern region of Saudi Arabia (OR:3.174; P = 0.009; CI: 7.585–1.328), having chronic ailments (OR:3.863; P = 0.013; CI: 11.274–1.324), and possess insurance (OR:1.748; P = 0.039; CI: 2.971–1.028) get readily influenced by pharmacist. People who were married and lived in Saudi Arabia's southern region were influenced by perceived effectiveness when choosing medicine. Participants from the northern region were found to be influenced by the price of the medicines, information about the medicines, and confidence based on previous experience. The price of medicines has a significant impact on those suffering from chronic diseases. At a significant level of P = 0.01, all six influencing domains were found to be positively correlated with each other. The study shows that healthcare providers, drug prices, perceived efficacy, and information availability all have a big influence on the Saudi Arabian population's choice of medications.Educational background, location, and chronic disease status are associated with several influencing domains. Aside from public awareness campaigns, healthcare professionals should be involved in the implementation of the generic medication policy.

中文翻译：

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使用观察性横断面研究探索影响沙特阿拉伯仿制药和创新药选择的因素

仿制药具有成本效益且不影响治疗效果。因此，本研究的目标是采用横断面研究设计来调查影响沙特阿拉伯消费者对创新药物和仿制药的偏好的因素。这项横断面研究是使用谷歌调查表在沙特阿拉伯进行的。对于数据收集，使用了简单的随机抽样策略。使用经过验证的问卷对招募的参与者进行了调查，该问卷重点关注六个影响领域：医生、药剂师、感知有效性、价格、信息可用性和基于先前经验的信心。获得的数据用于使用多项回归分析来分析与六个域中的任何一个域相关的因素。进行相关性分析以检查域之间的关系。 317 名参与者中，64.4% 为女性，52% 年龄≥26 岁，其中很大一部分为沙特国民 (82.6%) 和大学毕业生 (78.9%)。受雇（OR：3.029；P = 0.006；CI：6.715–1.366）、医疗保健提供者（OR：2.298；P = 0.043；CI：5.151–1.025）以及拥有保险（OR：1.908；P = 0.017； CI：3.245–1.122）对药物选择有较大影响。具有语言和商业教育背景的参与者（OR：3.443；P = 0.022；CI：9.950–1.191），居住在沙特阿拉伯北部地区的参与者（OR：3.174；P = 0.009；CI：7.585–1.328），患有慢性患有疾病（OR：3.863；P = 0.013；CI：11.274–1.324）和拥有保险（OR：1.748；P = 0.039；CI：2.971–1.028）容易受到药剂师的影响。在沙特阿拉伯南部地区结婚和居住的人在选择药物时会受到感知有效性的影响。研究发现，来自北方地区的参与者受到药品价格、药品信息以及基于以往经验的信心的影响。药品价格对慢性病患者影响很大。在 P = 0.01 的显着水平上，所有六个影响域均被发现彼此呈正相关。研究表明，医疗保健提供者、药品价格、感知疗效和信息可用性都对沙特阿拉伯人口的药物选择有很大影响。教育背景、地点和慢性病状况与几个影响领域相关。除了公众宣传活动外，医疗保健专业人员还应参与仿制药政策的实施。