The current study aims to assess the beliefs of the general public in Pakistan towards conspiracy theories, acceptance, willingness to pay, and preference for the COVID-19 vaccine. A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online self-administered questionnaire during January 2021. The Chi-square test or Fisher exact test was utilized for statistical data analysis. A total of 2158 respondents completed the questionnaire, among them 1192 (55.2%) were male with 23.87 (SD: ±6.23) years as mean age. The conspiracy beliefs circulating regarding the COVID-19 vaccine were believed by 9.3% to 28.4% of the study participants. Among them, 1040 (48.2%) agreed to vaccinate on its availability while 934 (43.3%) reported the Chinese vaccine as their preference. The conspiracy beliefs of the participants were significantly associated with acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine. The existence of conspiracy beliefs and low vaccine acceptance among the general population is a serious threat to successful COVID-19 vaccination.
The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) has been associated with psychological distress during its rapid rise period in Pakistan. The present study aimed to assess the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) in the three metropolitan cities of Pakistan. Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based study was conducted in 276 HCWs from April 10, 2020, to June 5, 2020. Depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) were used for the mental health assessment of the HCWs. Multivariable logistic regression analysis (MLRA) was performed to measure the association between the demographics and the occurrence of depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS). Results: The frequency of DAS in the HCWs was 10.1%, 25.4%, and 7.3%, respectively. The MLRA showed that the depression in HCWs was significantly associated with the profession (P<0.001). The anxiety in HCWs was significantly associated with their age (P=0.005), profession (P<0.05), and residence (P<0.05). The stress in HCWs was significantly associated with their age (P<0.05). Limitation: This study was conducted in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of COVID-19 cases was on the rise in Pakistan and it only represents a definite period (April to June 2020). Conclusion: The symptoms of DAS are present in the HCWs of Pakistan and to manage the psychological health of HCWs, there is a need for the initiation of psychological well-being programs.
Aim The current study was conducted to assess the factors contributing to treatment adherence and its impact on the quality of life (QoL) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2020 to March 2020 among T2DM patients. The data was collected from T2DM out-patient clinics. The participants were recruited by using a simple random sampling method. To assess the association of demographics with the level of adherence, binary logistics regression analysis was applied. Moreover, the Mann–Whitney U -test was used to evaluate the impact of adherence on QoL. Results A total of 384 patients participated in this study. Amongst them, 60.2% were male and 39.8% were female. Low adherence was seen in illiterate patients and patients older than 40 years. The results showed that good QoL in T2DM patients was significantly associated with treatment adherence (p= 0.004). Conclusion The finding of the current study showed that the non-adherence prevailed in illiterate strata of the study population and the medication adherence significantly affects the QoL in T2DM patients. These findings suggest that health regulatory agencies should focus on implementing disease-education interventions for improving the adherence to medications in patients with long-term conditions.
ObjectivesThe study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of HCPs regarding the use of probiotics in different health conditions and to identify various barriers that are associated with their use.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 405 HCPs by using a validated self- administered questionnaire for assessing their KAP towards probiotic use. The study data were analysed using descriptive statistics, χ2 test and binary logistic regression (BLR).ResultsAmong the 405 participants, only 15.1 % of HCPs had good knowledge, while 15.6% had acceptable practices and 89.1% had a positive attitude towards probiotics. The professional position of HCPs was significantly associated with knowledge (p=0.001) and practice (p=0.001). Among all the HCPs, the pharmacists showed a significant association with good knowledge (p=0.016) and good practices (p=0.024) by using BLR. The lack of knowledge about probiotics was a major barrier to the utilisation of probiotics.ConclusionsThe poor knowledge and practices regarding the use of probiotics have been seen in the current study. While the participants showed a positive attitude towards the utilisation of probiotics. To transform HCPs’ positive attitude to their practices and to create awareness regarding probiotic use focused training programmes should be initiated by professional health organisations.
Background and Purpose Over the past few decades, the focus of pharmacy practice has been shifted from the classical role of drug dispenser to pharmacotherapy expert. Pharmacists now are more often involved in the patient care process by addressing the drug-related needs of the patients and this patient-centered approach is known as pharmaceutical care (PC). The present study was conducted to assess the attitude of pharmacy undergraduate students toward PC and various contributing factors that influence their preference towards it. Method and Instrument A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 422 undergraduate pharmacy students by using a simple random sampling method. A pre-validated and self-reported Pharmaceutical Care Attitude Scale (PCAS) was used for assessing a student’s attitude towards PC. Results Amongst the 422 undergraduate students, the majority were males (68.2%) and 70.4% were between the age group of 20 and 25 years. The students studying in third, fourth, and fifth year (final year) were 140 (33.2%), 142 (33.6%), and 140 (33.2%), respectively. Overall participant showed a positive attitude toward the PC. Professional year showed significant influence on professional duties (PD) (p<0.001) and age was significantly associated with return on efforts (ROE) (p<0.001) and professional benefits (PB) (p<0.001). Conclusion Most of the participants showed a positive attitude toward PC and showed motivation to practice it. To promote PC practice in Pakistan, the government along with other professional bodies like Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA) should work together in collaboration with global health agencies to develop a well-structured advanced healthcare system in which there is a defined role of PC practice.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.