BackgroundDespite the advanced development of evidence-based psychological treatment services, help-seeking persons with mental health problems often fail to receive appropriate professional help. Internet-delivered psychotherapy has thus been suggested as an efficient strategy to overcome barriers to access mental health care on a large scale. However, previous research indicated poor public acceptability as an issue for the dissemination of Internet-delivered therapies. Currently, little is known about the expectations and attitudes toward Internet-delivered therapies in the general population. This is especially the case for countries such as Germany where electronic mental health (e-mental health) treatment services are planned to be implemented in routine care.ObjectiveThis pilot study aimed to determine the expectations and attitudes toward Internet-based psychotherapy in the general population in Germany. Furthermore, it aimed to explore the associations between attitudes toward Internet-based therapies and perceived stress.MethodsTo assess public attitudes toward Internet-based psychotherapy, we conducted both Web-based and paper-and-pencil surveys using a self-developed 14-item questionnaire (Cronbach alpha=.89). Psychological distress was measured by employing a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the 20-item German version of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ). In addition, we conducted explorative factor analysis (principal axis factor analysis with promax rotation). Spearman’s rank correlations were used to determine the associations between attitudes toward Internet-based therapies and perceived stress.ResultsDescriptive analyses revealed that most respondents (N=1558; female: 78.95%, 1230/1558) indicated being not aware of the existence of Internet-delivered therapies (83.46%, 1141/1367). The average age was 32 years (standard deviation, SD 10.9; range 16-76). Through exploratory factor analysis, we identified 3 dimensions of public attitudes toward Internet-based therapies, which we labeled “usefulness or helpfulness,” “relative advantage or comparability,” and “accessibility or access to health care.” Analyses revealed negative views about Internet-based therapies on most domains, such as perceived helpfulness. The study findings further indicated ambivalent attitudes: Although most respondents agreed to statements on expected improvements in health care (eg, expanded access), we observed low intentions to future use of Internet-delivered therapies in case of mental health problems.ConclusionsThis pilot study showed deficient “e-awareness” and rather negative or ambivalent attitudes toward Internet-delivered therapies in the German-speaking general population. However, research targeting determinants of the large-scale adoption of Internet-based psychotherapy is still in its infancy. Thus, further research is required to explore the “black box” of public attitudes toward Internet-delivered therapies with representative samples, validated measures, and longitudinal survey designs.

The Malaysian official Islamic authorities have issued a "fatwa" (Islamic ruling) regarding smoking practice which prohibits Muslims from smoking because of its potential harm to health. Since the prevalence of smoking among Malaysian students is high, this study was designed to explore the perceptions and opinions of Malaysian Muslim students towards smoking in International Islamic University of Malaysia. A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted among School of Science students in International Islamic University Malaysia. Convenience sampling approach was used to recruit 323 students based on sample size calculation. A content- and face-validated questionnaire was used to collect the data from the participants. Non-smokers highly supported the fatwa on smoking forbiddance than smokers (94 vs 64.3 %, p = 0.001). A significant proportion of non-smokers believed that Islam prohibits smoking because of its potential harm (94.9 vs 71.4 %, p = 0.001). Majority of smokers agreed that addiction is the main barrier towards smoking cessation (78.6 vs 61.5 %, p = 0.019). The results showed positive influences of Islamic beliefs on the non-smokers. Further studies are required to validate these findings by surveying other universities of Malaysia.

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Objectives: A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the level of knowledge, attitudes, and risk perceptions regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunity deficiency syndrome (AIDS) among final year health sciences students in the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuantan, Malaysia.Methods: Students admitted in the schools of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, dentistry and allied health sciences at IIUM, Kuantan campus were targeted. Online questionnaire was completed by 236 of final students who volunteered to be a part of this study. Data were collected and analysed by using the Statistical Package for Social software (SPSS). Results:The vast majority of respondents were females (n=165, 70%). About 41.1% of participants were pharmacy students followed by medicine (n= 61, 25.8%), allied health sciences (n=40, 16.9%), nursing (n=20, 8.5%) and dentistry (n=18, 7.6%). Conclusion:The present study results showed moderate awareness about HIV/AIDS treatment, methods of HIV transmission, and educational knowledge of HIV/AIDS among students. The curriculum offered in different health professions should incorporate correct information about HIV/AIDS, thereby minimizing fear, misconceptions, and negatives attitudes that practising professionals hold about HIV/AIDS patients.

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Pharmacists play critical roles in the primary healthcare system with other healthcare providers (HCPs). Extended pharmacists' roles and pharmaceutical services have been adopted in developed countries. However, the practice of the pharmacy profession in the majority of Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region still depends on conventional activities with exceptions of providing new pharmaceutical care services in some countries such as UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Healthcare professionals in the Arab region still have the old perception that pharmacists only dispense medications and may not always recognize the new emerging clinical roles of pharmacists and the various services that they can provide. The concept and practice of patient-centered pharmaceutical care are at the early stages in most Arab countries. Numerous studies have been done in the MENA region to explore the HCPs' acceptance of extended pharmacist's roles by investigating the perceptions, attitudes, experiences, and expectations of HCPs. Literature showed higher expectations of pharmacists in providing reliable drug information and in patient education. Arab Physicians were less comfortable with pharmacists recommending prescription use or non-prescription medicines to patients. Literature showed a communication gap and low interactions between pharmacists and physicians in the Arab region. However, studies showed highly positive attitudes toward collaborative relationships between professions and the roles of clinical pharmacists in healthcare teams in hospital settings.

Background: Research scoping on e-learning and novel web 2.0 tools in pharmacy education in Arabic Language Speaking Countries (ALSCs) is scarce. Aim and methods: Therefore, this study aimed to develop an online educational course on generic medicines to reveal the views of Arab pharmacists and pharmacy students about emerging technologies in transferring pharmaceutical knowledge and assess the differences in knowledge scores before and after the online educational intervention and the differences in knowledge scores among study subgroups. Results: The total mean knowledge score after attending the online educational intervention significantly increased, from 4.9±1.68 to 7.75±1.75 (t(86) = 4.6, p<0.001). Providing an online course using web 2.0 tools to transfer pharmaceutical knowledge was viewed as highly positive (mean score = 62.23±6.08, range 45-75 points). Significant sex and status differences were identified post-assessment. Female participants and pharmacists had higher knowledge scores compared with males and students, respectively. Conclusion: The online course development was successfully implemented using Schoology as an online learning management system (LMS) and Facebook as a social network site (SNS). Arab pharmacists and pharmacy students found e-learning and web 2.0 tools to be effective novel technologies in transferring pharmaceutical knowledge.

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