Falls and related injuries are major public health problems among older people (OP). The use of fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) has been identified as a risk factor for falls, yet the use of the drugs among OP is common. Previous studies showed that OP have low awareness about FRIDs. Education materials (EMs) have the potential to be used to enhance knowledge of OP on various health-related topics including FRIDs. This study employed a focus group discussion (FGD) to seek the opinions of key stakeholders in OP care about EMs on FRIDs. Nineteen healthcare providers (HCPs) participated in the FGDs which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The HCPs believed that the awareness of OP about medications as a risk factor for falls is low. EMs on FRIDs were well received by the HCPs, and were associated with several benefits. Several topics were recommended to be included in the EMs with the aim to enhance the awareness and risk perceptions about FRIDs among OP and to promote HCP-patient communication about the drugs. The HCPs' opinions may assist the development of EMs on FRIDs by informing the priorities and scope of content, thus ensuring the suitability and relevance for OP.

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Self-medication is the administration of medications without a medical prescription to manage self-diagnosed health problems or symptoms. Self-medication with antibiotics is a global phenomenon, and it is more common in developing countries due to poor regulatory controls. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics in Erbil city, Iraq. This was an observational cross-sectional study involving a total of 100 people from the public population in Erbil City, Iraq. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants. Among 100 participants, 90% of them were self-medicated with antibiotics. Amoxicillin was the most commonly used antibiotic for self-medication. For successful treatment, 77% of the participants were satisfied by self-medication with the antibiotic. The primary source for the antibiotic was from a community pharmacy with 38%. The study showed that there is a significant association between self-medication with antibiotics and the occupational status of the participants. Self-medication with antibiotics was found to be prevalent among the public population of Erbil City. As a recommendation regulatory control should be implemented to prevent dispensing antibiotics without a medical prescription.

Background: Tongkat Ali (TA) or Eurycoma longifolia is a herbal medicine (HM) plant traditionally used to treat sexual dysfunction and enhance libido in men. Websites containing information about HM are abundant. However, studies have shown that in general the quality of websites containing information on HM is low. The present study aims to assess the quality and risks of websites containing information about TA supplements and to identify the health claims for TA. Methodology: A cross-sectional study to evaluate the quality and risks of websites discussing TA supplements was conducted. Online marketing websites, research articles, news articles, personal opinions, and those restricted by password were excluded. The quality and risks of websites were assessed using a modified DISCERN tool and a set of risk assessment criteria, respectively. The health claims for TA were identified and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Overall, 321 websites met the inclusion criteria and were further evaluated. The overall rating of the quality of the websites was low, with a mean score ± standard deviation of 1.07 ± 0.51. Most websites lacked information that there may be more than one possible treatment choice and did not discuss areas of uncertainty. However, 67.9% (218/321) of the websites received a risk score of zero. A minority of websites (5/321, 1.6%) discouraged the use of conventional medicines. The most common health claims for TA included in the websites related to the enhancement of testosterone level (121/321, 37.7%), treatment of malaria (112/321, 34.9%), and improvement in libido (108/321, 33.6%). Conclusions: Websites containing information about TA supplements generally have a low-quality rating based on a modified DISCERN tool despite having a low-risk score. Government agencies and healthcare professionals (HCPs) must be more proactive in the critique and dissemination of information relating to HM, and in ensuring the safe use of HM among the public and patients.