BackgroundMedication therapy management (MTM) service provides set of clinical activities to optimize therapeutic outcomes for patients. It requires the collaboration between patient, pharmacist and other healthcare providers to ensure safe and effective use of medicines. The objective of the current study was to assess Hospital Pulau Pinang pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and practice on MTM service.MethodsA self-administrated validated survey was carried out among all pharmacists working at Hospital Pulau Pinang.ResultsA total of 93 pharmacists out of 130 (71.5%) were included in the study (61.3% between the age of 20–30 years old, 74.2% female, 68.8% Chinese, 88.2% holding bachelor’s degree and 48.4% working in medication therapy adherence clinic and outpatient pharmacy). Majority of pharmacists had a high level of knowledge and positive attitudes regarding MTM service. All pharmacists agreed that MTM service could improve the quality of health services and most pharmacists were interested in providing MTM service (92.5%). Moreover, 95.7% were interested in acquiring more information about MTM service. About the barriers that might affect MTM service implementation, the most common barriers identified by pharmacists were lack of training (88.2%), need of high budget to implement MTM service (51.6%) and lack of time (46.2%).ConclusionsOverall, the research findings provide some insights about the Hospital Pulau Pinang pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and practice regarding MTM service. Majority of pharmacists agreed and showed their interest towards the implementation of MTM service.
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess the Vitamin D deficiency awareness and perceptions between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among the population of two emirates at the UAE: Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Results: Overall, 434 participants completed the survey. Majority of people were aware of phenomenon of Vitamin D deficiency, but only 21.4% of them knew that sunlight is considered the main source of Vitamin D. Moreover, less than half of participants check their Vitamin D blood level regularly and around 55% of them follow-up with their physicians after completing the treatment. High proportion of participant females spend <1 h outdoors (60%) and use sunscreen daily (55%) that cause higher prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among females than males (83% vs. 42%). Conclusion: This research gives some insights regarding the UAE population’s awareness and perceptions of Vitamin D insufficiency. Decreased awareness of sunlight exposure as a major source of Vitamin D, in addition to lifestyle, contributed to Vitamin D deficiency problem among the UAE population, in general, and in females, in particular.
Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the perception of patients and pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates about social media uses in health-care delivery. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was distributed among patients and pharmacists residing in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Their perception of social media uses in delivering health-care services was evaluated by analyzing their attitude toward the benefits and associated risks of social media. Results: The survey study had a total of 267 participants, including 150 patients and 117 pharmacists. Based on the results, 69.2% of the pharmacists agreed that social media, text message, or e-mail can be effectively used by them to improve patient communication. For patients, the study showed that the greatest percentage (77.3%, n=116) utilize both: Disease-related information and information on drugs. About 69.2% of pharmacists chose WhatsApp to be the most used platform, and 60.7% of patients prefer using Instagram as a health-care platform. Conclusion: The use of professional development tools for social networking is likely to continue to evolve. Integrating social media with the practice of pharmacy and patient care will have a positive impact on achieving optimal patient care.
Introduction Mental illness has become a global public health issue and according to WHO report in 2015, United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded the highest level of depression among all countries at Eastern Mediterranean Region. Many people frequently suffer from mental health diseases but tend not to obtain help. Treatment delay can become life-threatening. Objectives This study aimed to identify the barriers to seeking professional help for mental illness and the consequences of untreated mental health disorders. The study also aimed to examine outcomes in patients when help was provided by health care providers. Methods A self-administrated survey was distributed among 377 people randomly selected from general population of three different cities at United Arab Emirates (UAE): Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Their perception of the barriers, consequences and outcomes was analyzed to achieve the objectives of the study. Results Overall, 341 participants completed the survey. Wrong thought regarding mental disorders (60.1%) and being ashamed (58.9%) were identified to be the most common and significant barriers (P < 0.001) that prevent people from obtaining healthcare providers’ assistance. The majority of responders reported building confidence (78.9%) and improvement in relationships (73.0%) as outcomes for taking professional help in mental illness. Moreover, many individuals believed that untreated mental illness could lead to problems with family and friends (69.2%) as well as to suicidal thoughts (56.3%). Conclusion This research gives some insights regarding the challenges associated with mental diseases management in the UAE. Majority of responders had a negative perception of mental health service due to a lack of awareness regarding treatment effectiveness for mental disorders.
Introduction Pregnancy period is of high concern to every woman. Knowledge about medication use needs to be highlighted at such a critical stage. Objective This study aimed to assess pregnant and postpartum women's use and attitude regarding the utilisation of medications during pregnancy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods A self‐administrated survey was distributed among 500 pregnant and postpartum women randomly selected from the general population of five different cities within the UAE: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, AL Fujairah and Ajman over a period of 3 months. All analyses were two‐sided, and a P‐value of ≤.05 was taken as the cut‐off for statistical significance. Results Overall, 434 participants took part in the survey. Forty‐one percent of respondents reported that they use drugs during pregnancy, and the most frequently used medications during pregnancy were multivitamins, analgesics and folic acid. Moreover, 77.9% of female participants acquired their knowledge from their gynaecologists. Only 21.7% of respondents reported that the pharmacist provided enough information during dispensing. Most ladies had an uplifting mentality towards medicines, but they believed pregnant ladies should be more wary with respect to medication use during pregnancy. A significant association was found between participants’ nationality and occupation, and attitudes about medications (P < .001), where women with Arab nationality and those with health‐related careers agreed that they have a higher threshold for using medicines during pregnancy. Conclusion During pregnancy, ladies were more moderate and doubter towards the drug, healthcare providers should know about such mentalities while encouraging pregnant ladies to take prescription.
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