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A Comparative Analysis of Public Knowledge and Awareness of Counterfeit Medicines in Online and Community Pharmacies: Sociodemographic Correlates.
(2026-05) Szwed, Pamela
Counterfeit medicines represent a growing global health issue concern, specifically with the rapid expansion of online pharmacies and complex supply chains. This study aimed to examine public awareness and knowledge of counterfeit medicines in the context of community pharmacies vs. online pharmacies, while exploring the influence of sociodemographic factors. This study was guided by the hypothesis that sociodemographic factors influence awareness and knowledge on counterfeit medicines, as well as lower awareness influence the ability to identify counterfeit medicines. A pragmatist philosophy, using a predominantly inductive approach with small deductive elements and mixed-method approach was used in this research. Quantitative data was collected through an online survey consisting of 24 close-ended questions, with a total of 71 participants. The survey/questionnaire was created using Google Forms, and the target audience was the general public. The survey was distributed via social media platforms using an URL link to the questionnaire. Additionally, qualitative data were collected through two semi-structured interviews with a pharmacist and pharmacy technician to provide professional insight and support to the survey findings. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, along with thematic analysis for qualitative responses. The findings of this study revealed that although awareness of counterfeit medicines is relatively high, knowledge and practical understanding remain low. Participants demonstrated difficulties in identifying suspected counterfeit medicines, as well as demonstrating inconsistent engagement in safety behaviours, such as checking authenticity of medicines or reporting suspected medicinal products. A clear difference was observed between perceptions of community pharmacies versus online pharmacies. While community pharmacies were viewed as safe and trustworthy, online pharmacies were associated with high risks of counterfeit medicine exposure as well as being considered unsafe. Despite recognising risks, some respondents still purchased medications from online pharmacies due to reasons like convenience, privacy and lower costs. xii This study highlighted that awareness alone is not sufficient enough to translate into safe purchasing behaviours. This outlines a gap between knowledge, perception and action. Limited knowledge was observed on reporting procedures as well as low levels of communication between patients and healthcare professionals such as pharmacists. While sociodemographic factors appeared to influence awareness and knowledge, conclusions were limited due to the sample characteristics. Overall, this research outlines the need for improved public education, stronger engagement of healthcare professionals, and stricter regulations. Addressing these gaps is essential to combat counterfeit medicines and to reduce their exposure to patients, ensuring their health safety
Analysing the factors driving the fluctuating volumes of falsified medicines, including combination products seizures in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and associated public health implications
(2026-05) Bali, Suvriti
Objective This dissertation analysed factors driving fluctuating volumes of falsified and illegal medicines, including combination-product seizures in ROI by assessing public-awareness, online purchasing behaviours, regulatory response, supply chain complexities and publichealth implications. Methods Mixed-method research design was implemented. Quantitative data was collected via online public survey completed by 256 adults residing in ROI. Survey response determining publicawareness levels, risk perception, consumer purchasing behaviours, regulatory verification and reporting knowledge were descriptively analysed. Chi-square tests were used to examine associations between selected categorical variables. Qualitative data collected from ten semistructured interviews with healthcare and industry professionals was thematically analysed. Results Survey participants revealed moderate awareness-levels as 56.94% of respondents had heard the terms, falsified and illegal medical products, but showed confusion and limited conceptual understanding of actual falsified, counterfeit, substandard and illegal medical product definitions. Risk perception remained high, while 85.55% respondents never purchased medicines online, they highlighted factors such as convenience, lower costs, wider options, anonymity discussing sensitive medical needs as potential drivers of online shopping behaviour. Regulatory verification awareness was limited, 82.81% were unaware of EU common logo or Irish Internet Supply List and only 74 respondents identified HPRA as the correct Irish reporting authority. Chi-square test revealed statistically significant associations between risk perception and online consumer purchasing behaviour, perceived online-buying risk and perceived health-services impact and lastly regulatory awareness and checking authenticity prior to online-purchase. Interviews supported these survey findings, identifying potential patient-safety risks from unknown or incorrect dosing ingredients, adverse reactions and hospitalisations. Supply chain vulnerabilities associated with online unregulated and crossborder sources, bypassing legal regulatory controls were also highlighted. Conclusions Interview feedback highlights robustness in the Irish regulated in-person pharmacy supply chain but vulnerabilities around unregulated online and cross-border sources remain a challenge. Findings indicate a strong need for raising public awareness, easy HPRA reporting pathways, specialised healthcare-professional training, improved online monitoring and strict regulatory enforcement through cross-collaboration amongst HPRA, Revenue Customs, An Garda Síochána, healthcare and industry professionals to strengthen public health and safety in Ireland.
Optimizing Knowledge Transfer During Pharmaceutical Technology Transfer: Challenges and Best Practices for Pharmaceutical Companies Receiving Units
(2026-05) Daly, James
Effective knowledge transfer is widely recognised as a critical determinant of success in pharmaceutical technology transfer, yet the receiving unit perspective remains underrepresented in both academic literature and industry guidance. This dissertation investigates how pharmaceutical companies receiving technology transfers can optimise knowledge transfer to improve efficiency, quality, and compliance outcomes, with a particular focus on the challenges and best practices associated with tacit knowledge transfer. A positivist, deductive research approach was adopted, employing a structured quantitative survey distributed to pharmaceutical professionals with direct technology transfer experience in Ireland. Fifty-three valid responses were collected and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and chi-square testing. Findings reveal a significant and persistent explicit-tacit knowledge transfer gap: whilst regulatory document transfer achieved a mean effectiveness rating of 3.58 out of 5, tacit knowledge transfer rated just 2.19, with 71.7% of respondents disagreeing that their organisations transferred tacit knowledge effectively. Time pressure, resource constraints, and limited sending-receiving unit communication were identified as the most severe organisational challenges. A strong positive correlation was established between communication effectiveness and tacit knowledge transfer effectiveness (r=0.514, p<0.001), identifying communication enhancement as the highest-leverage intervention available to receiving units. Technology transfer outcomes reflected a performance paradox, with nearuniversal regulatory compliance (92.5%) contrasting sharply with poor timeline adherence (47.2% failure rate). Six evidence-based recommendations are proposed, centred on implementing a standardised tacit knowledge transfer process, sustaining structured sending-receiving unit communication, closing the implementation gap for hands-on training and shadowing, and embedding lessons learned capability within the technology transfer lifecycle. The study contributes empirical evidence to an underrepresented area of pharmaceutical knowledge management and provides receiving units with actionable strategies to improve technology transfer performance.
The Impact of Digital Transformation on the OTC Drug Purchasing Market: Consumer Decisions and The Role of the Pharmacist - A Case Study in Dublin City Centre Pharmacies.
(2026-05) Catossi Vicentini, Bruno
The present study was focused on understanding how digital transformation has affected the professional autonomy in Dublin's OTC (over the counter) market, addressing the influence of digital tools on customers decisions and pharmacists counselling. As result it reveals the role of social skills for pharmacists to improve trust and adapt to modern scenarios of digitalization. This research has been made by adopting an interpretivist philosophy with a qualitative approach and using semi structured interviews (12 Pharmacists and 10 Customers), data collections was conducted from December of 2025 to February of 2026. All the data was analysed following the six phases thematic analysis and using the DVX framework which combines digital quality, human experience and operational excellence and considers the tensions created by these that the pharmacist must balance in order to improve customer experiences. The results show that customers developed the habit of using digital tools as an initial triage, but they keep looking for pharmacist's validation regarding the acquired information from digital sources. Is noted a structural difference in how the interviewees groups use digital tools; pharmacists look up information in reliable scientific and/or governmental sources, while consumers tend to browse through social media and other non-reliable sources. Technological tools amplify pre-existing tensions between operational efficiency and human care, which creates emotional and operational challenges over pharmacist duties. However, digitalization increased the trust in the pharmacists due to digital information sources contents with lack of credibility. Finally, the tensions implied by the digital tools adoption did not substitute the pharmacist's validation and reliability, instead it highlights the pharmacist's role as mediator and validator of information as essential in a digital ecosystem of fragmented information.
An exploratory study of the barriers and enablers influencing Industry 4.0 adoption in pharmaceutical manufacturing
(2026-05) Susan Stacey Thomas, Jane
This study was to investigate both the inhibitors and facilitators of the implementation and successful application of Industry 4.0 technologies in the pharmaceutical industry. Although digital transformation is increasingly playing a strategic role in the manufacturing industry in general, it has not been as fast or as easy to adopt as in other sectors, especially those with a focus on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) in regulated pharmaceutical environments. This gap in the understanding of the drivers, the barriers and organisational conditions influencing the process was not well understood from a cross-functional practitioner point of view, and this was the gap that this research addressed. An exploratory qualitative research design was employed that used an interpretivist perspective. Primary data was gathered using five semi structured interviews with participants holding various roles within the Quality Assurance, Quality Control, IT Support, Automation and Production Operations departments of GMP regulated pharmaceutical manufacturing establishments. Purposive sampling has been used to choose the participants for cross functional coverage. The six-phase thematic analysis approach proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006) was used for data analysis. Four main themes were found. Firstly, it was identified that all sites were in a hybrid, mid transitional state, with modern digital platforms working alongside legacy equipment, paper based processes and gaps in integration. Secondly, regulatory and compliance pressures, especially regarding data integrity, was the top motivator for digital investment, in addition to customer expectations, operational efficiency, and talent retention. Thirdly, three types of barriers were identified: regulatory and GMP barriers, organisational barriers, and technological barriers. Thirdly, the most frequently reported enablers were hands-on training quality, substantive cross functional engagement at an early stage, and system reliability. A fifth cross-cutting theme emerged spontaneously and in four of the five interviews: covering the human and cognitive aspects of digital change, including the cumulative cognitive load, the risk of skill erosion among professionals due to increased automation, and the risk of institutional knowledge loss due to aging of experienced professionals. The results demonstrated that the adoption of Industry 4.0 in the pharmaceutical industry is more influenced by the organisational conditions and the quality of governance, rather than by choice of technology alone. Practical suggestions were provided for organisations and suggestions for future research were provided, such as: how to ensure that data integrity compliance is achieved while systems are reliable and how to ensure the preservation of knowledge in transition to new members of the workforce.

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