Due to the Russian invasion, which started on 24 February 2022, the Ukrainian healthcare system is facing multiple challenges. A great number of healthcare facilities have been destroyed, while availability of other ones is often limited due to a lack of qualified medical staff. Certain services, e.g. cancer therapies, have been seriously disrupted. Moreover, millions of Ukrainians with chronic conditions are also suffering as due to war-related problems with execution of their long-term therapies. Availability of drugs is particularly limited in the occupied regions. According to the national statistics, as of 18 August 2022, about 505 pharmacies were damaged in Eastern Ukraine and 47 completely ruined. Moreover, the invaders have been blocking humanitarian aid provided to these territories by the Ukrainian government or other countries. Fortunately, in the areas controlled by the Government of Ukraine, the acute shortage of medicines, observed at the beginning of the war, has already been eliminated. Nevertheless, not all drugs are now fully available, even in the areas where no military attacks occur. The economic availability of drugs is also profoundly influenced by the significant increase in the cost of medications and the fall in average salaries. The Government of Ukraine is trying to minimise the impact of these war-related challenges by adopting a new legislation. This includes, among others, simplification of procedures for licensing, quality control and import of medicinal products to Ukraine. Other measures involve securing displaced people with the option of benefiting from local healthcare facilities, broadening the scope of the ePrescription system, authorizing primary care doctors to issue prescriptions to refugees, increasing the number of drugs reimbursed for long-term therapies, etc. These solutions, however, cannot balance all the harmful consequences the war in Ukraine brings in terms of maintenance of long-term therapies. Therefore, in order to minimise this negative impact, Ukraine still needs urgent international support in this area.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic affected the entire world and contributed to severe health and economic consequences. A safe and effective vaccine is a tool allowing the pandemic to be controlled. Hence, we aimed to conduct a survey on vaccinations against seasonal influenza and COVID-19 in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine. We also evaluated societal attitudes towards influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations. Materials and methods: We conducted the study between December 2020 and May 2021. At the time, the countries subject to the research were between the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used an anonymous and self-designed questionnaire comprised of eleven closed-ended questions and a short socio-demographic section. The questionnaire was administered by direct contact or mainly (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) by e-mail or Facebook. Finally, we included 2753 answers from Poland, 1852 from Ukraine, and 213 from Lithuania. Results: Between 61% (Poland) and 72.9% (Ukraine) of the study participants have never been vaccinated against influenza (p < 0.05). Totals of 67.6% of the respondents in Poland, 73.71% in Lithuania, and 29.5% in Ukraine responded that they want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 (p < 0.05). Vaccine hesitancy was mainly related to worries about its side effects. There were also vaccine non-adopters in the study. In Ukraine, 67% of the respondents were clearly opposed to mandatory COVID-19 vaccines, compared to 41.7% in Poland and 30.99% in Lithuania (p < 0.05). Conclusions: There are still many people who present vaccine hesitancy or are opposed to vaccines. Thus, societal education about vaccination and the pandemic is crucial. Vaccine hesitancy or refusal might be related to vaccine origin. Shortages of influenza vaccines made it impossible to vaccinate those who were determined to be vaccinated. There is room for discussion of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.

Introduction. The efficient pharmacotherapy is an important part of palliative and hospice care, and requires a multidisciplinary approach to the patients. The pharmacist, as the member of the multidisciplinary therapeutic team, is responsible for performing pharmaceutical care, which provides safe and efficient treatment. The aim of the research was to conduct a comparative research about the status of palliative and hospice care and role of the pharmacist (clinical pharmacist) in Ukraine and Poland.Material and methods. It was a questionnaire survey conducted in Ukraine, as well as analysis of information sources associated with this subject. The questionnaire was developed on the basis of similar study conducted in Poland. It consisted of 15 multiple-choice questions addressed to head physicians and doctors in Ukraine. The obtained results were compared to the results of the mentioned above Polish study. Results. Eight head physicians and 22 doctors (30 questionnaires) from 13 palliative and hospice care institutions in Ukraine responded to the survey. It has been found that almost half in Ukraine (43%) believed that the pharmacist should be a mandatory member of a multidisciplinary team, because of his/her significant role in drug management in hospice. Conclusion. A multidisciplinary approach to satisfying of patients' needs in palliative and hospice care has a great significance. Results of the study testify to the importance of including the pharmacists into the multidisciplinary team.

Мета роботи. Дослідження інституційних засад саморегулювання фармацевтичної практики (СР ФП) у міжнародному аспекті. Матеріали і методи. Наукові публікації, що стосуються саморегулювання, офіційні сайти міжнародних фармацевтичних асоціацій та методологія інституційного виміру. Результати й обговорення. За даними літературних джерел виявлено історичні передумови становлення СР ФП. Шляхом вивчення інституційних засад СР ФП у міжнародному аспекті встановлено, що майже третина країн, професійні організації яких є членами Міжнародної фармацевтичної федерації (МФФ), представляла Європу. Показано, що трохи більше половини членів ООН через професійні спілки є країнами-членами МФФ, при тому дві третіх європейських країн-членів ООН є членами МФФ. На підставі порівняльного дослідження структури членів МФФ, Фармацевтичної групи Європейського Союзу (ФГЄС) і Європейської асоціації лікарняних фармацевтів (ЄАЛФ) виявлено, що загалом у трьох досліджуваних асоціаціях присутні 94 фармацевтичні організації із 39 держав Європи. Поряд з цим у кожній фармацевтичній асоціації членами є фармацевтичні товариства двох третіх країн і лише чотири професійні організації є членами водночас трьох фармацевтичних асоціацій, а саме: Фармацевтична палата Македонії, Хорватське фармацевтичне товариство, Фармацевтичне товариство Федерації Боснії і Герцеговини та Турецька асоціація фармацевтів. Дані інституційного виміру показують суттєво низьку участь у діяльності міжнародних асоціацій українських фармацевтичних товариств. При цьому, за умови приведення статутних документів до вимог конкретної асоціації, відкрито їх доступ не лише до МФФ (Україна -член ООН і ВООЗ), а й до ФГЄС (наша держава -член Європейської асоціації вільної торгівлі) та ЄАЛФ (Україна -член Ради Європи). Висновки. Отримані результати показують різний рівень членства в трьох міжнародних фармацевтичних асоціаціях (МФФ, ФГЄС і ЄАЛФ) як держав, так й окремих фармацевтичних товариств, а також надзвичайно низьку участь українських фармацевтичних товариств у СР ФП у міжнародному аспекті.Ключові слова: самоврядування; Міжнародна фармацевтична федерація; Фармацевтична група Європейського Союзу; Європейська асоціація лікарняних фармацевтів; фармацевтичні товариства; Всеукраїнська фармацевтична палата; інституційний вимір.Вступ. Професійне саморегулювання (СР) базу-ється на чинному законодавстві, зокрема на ст. 12 і 13 Цивільного Кодексу України, відповідно до яких особа здійснює свої цивільні права вільно, на влас-ний розсуд у межах, наданих їй договором або акта-ми цивільного законодавства [1]. Фармацевтичне СР, як вид професійного СР, має відношення до запобі-гання недобросовісній, неправильній, неточній або шкідливій фармацевтичній практиці (ФП), яка може привести до короткострокового прибутку, але зашко-дити здоров'ю пацієнта та сприйняттю статусу пуб-лічної довіри до цілої професійної групи -фармацев-тів і провізорів. Саме тому насущними є проблеми, пов'язані з професійним СР та взаємодією його суб'єктів з органами державного регулювання ФП. Розвиток ФП зумовлює необхідність постійного ...

Since the beginning of the quarantine, pharmacists, especially those who work in pharmacies, are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 coronavirus infection, and they do their best to provide quality pharmaceutical assistance. The aim of the study was to study the opinions of pharmacists on the organizational features of their work in pharmacies during quarantine associated with the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The methods of survey, mathematical statistics, generalization and interpretation of the results are used. 499 pharmacists from 25 regions of Ukraine except for territories not controlled by the Government, were interviewed. The study was conducted from 7 to 19 April 2020. Pharmacists' anxious expectations and pessimistic sentiments elucidated through the COVID-19 coronavirus have been. It is shown that social distance in pharmacies is primarily aimed at limiting the number of people admitted to the pharmacy at the same time, then – to install a protective screen in the sales hall, as well as its planning. It has been found that pharmacists often have to deal with inappropriate visitor behavior. The increase of physical load of pharmacists, the main reason for which is the peculiarities of working with visitors during social distance, as well as finding a large part of them under constant psychological pressure, is revealed. The degree of concern of pharmacists through the Covid-19 coronavirus, the availability of various safety measures in pharmacies, the levels of aggressive behavior on the part of pharmacy visitors, exercise stress and being under constant psychological pressure from pharmacists have been established.