Date of Conferral

1-28-2026

Date of Award

January 2026

Degree

Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A)

School

Management

Advisor

Warren Lesser

Abstract

Some patients in Lusaka, Zambia experience adverse health outcomes when pharmacists are not able to fill life-saving, prescription-only medications (POMs) because of supply-chain shortages. Important to pharmacists are strategies to improve POMs supply and mitigate out-of-stock occurrences. Grounded in the SERVQUAL theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the service quality strategies pharmacists employ to mitigate shortages and enhance patient care. The participants were eight pharmacists who successfully mitigated POMs shortages for improved customer service. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and publicly available documents. Data were analyzed thematically and six themes emerged: (a) pharmacists’ responsiveness to customers and inventory control, (b) pharmacists’ POMs sourcing strategies, (c) increasing economic benefits for POMs patient loyalty, (d) improving supplier relationships for stockout mitigation, (e) regular self-assessments for POMs shortages mitigation, and (f) pharmacy environment. A key recommendation is for pharmacists to engage reliable and performance-proven pharmaceutical suppliers to reduce POM shortages. The implications for positive social change include the potential to contribute to improved quality of life for community members.

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