Background:In Lebanon, mandatory continuing education (CE) for pharmacists was implemented in January 2014.Objective:The objectives of this study are to assess 1) the overall adherence to the mandatory CE program, 2) pharmacists’ preferences related to CE, and 3) barriers to adherence to CE.Methods:By the end of October 2017, an evaluation of pharmacists’ participation in the mandatory CE program was conducted using electronic reports available in the Learning Management System (LMS). Descriptive results were presented as frequencies and percentages. In addition, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among pharmacists to better understand their preferences and barriers to their participation to the CE program. Finally, a focus group was organized with pharmacists who did not start their CE.Results:Out of all registered pharmacists in Lebanon, 68.30% started their CE and 25.6% already achieved their required credits. Among pharmacists enrolled in the CE system, the majority (69%) used the online courses at least once. Moreover, CE enrolment was similar among old and young pharmacists except for those newly registered. The majority of pharmacists preferred clinical and pharmacological topics, followed by preventive medicine and transferable skills. Barriers to engaging in CE were mainly work and family obligations, lack of interest, lack of time, and difficulties in commuting and technology use.Conclusion:Although results of the present study are similar to those in developing countries, the resistance to change is higher. The Lebanese Pharmacists Association [Ordre des Pharmaciens du Liban] should develop strategies to motivate and enroll more pharmacists in the CE system, based on the barriers and preferences cited in the results, while continuing to offer high quality and cost-favorable CE programs to Lebanese pharmacists.

Background:Suboptimal pain control has been frequently reported in healthcare settings and documented to negatively impact patients’ health. Patients’ perception regarding pain management may influence their satisfaction regarding treatment.Objectives:This study focuses on the assessment of patients’ satisfaction regarding pain therapy and defining patient-related barriers for its implication.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in two tertiary care hospitals from April till July 2017. A face-to face interview questionnaire was filled regarding pain scores and patients’ attitudes regarding pain management. Both medical and post-surgical adult patients with all types of pain were eligible to participate. A descriptive analysis of patient satisfaction and perceptions regarding pain management was done.Results:Results from 183 participants with a mean age of 49 (SD=17.33) revealed that pain was their main reason for hospitalization (71.6% of the cases). Numeric pain scores were recorded only in 14.2% of the patient medical files. Pain intensity documentation by healthcare professionals was found in 41.5% of the cases, and 7.7% of the patients had to wait for more than 30 minutes before getting the pain medication. Around 85% of the patients were satisfied with their pain management. Patients’ barriers to effective pain therapy were mainly fear of adverse effects, addiction, and additional costs (p<0.05).Conclusions:Pain remains a prevalent problem that requires more efforts for improvement. Our study can effectively serve as a start for larger studies where barriers to pain management can be assessed as an independent variable affecting pain management practice.

Background: Continuing education (CE) is an internationally recommended approach as a lifelong learning model for pharmacists, enabling them to maintain the necessary knowledge, skills and ethical attitudes so as to remain current and competent in their practice. Objectives: The objective of this study is to 1) describe factors associated with taking different types of CE courses among pharmacists in Lebanon, and 2) assess the correlation between types of CE activity and the attitude of Lebanese pharmacists (motivation and value) and their computer literacy. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study conducted between February and May 2017, using a random sample of Lebanese pharmacists from all districts of Lebanon. All pharmacists were eligible to participate; the sample consisted of those who agreed to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire includes questions about computer literacy, motivation and value about CE, in addition to sociodemographic characteristics of pharmacists. Results: Out of the 750 questionnaires distributed, 628 (83.73%) were filled out and returned to be analyzed. The mean age of the participants was 39.04 (SD 10.57) years, 66.9% of them were females, and 41.1% of them had a bachelor degree in pharmacy and worked in Mount Lebanon. Among the 628 respondents, 567 (90.3%) have earned at least one CE credit. Of those, 5.4% took mainly online courses, 15.4% took mainly live courses and the remaining took both types of CE. Higher motivation (aOR=1.05; CI 0.994-1.109) and higher value (aOR=1.076; CI 0.968-1.197) were associated with higher odds of taking live CE courses. Higher motivation (aOR=1.07; 95%CI 0.994-1.152) was associated with higher odds of taking online CE courses. Higher motivation (aOR=1.059; 95%CI 1.006-1.114) and higher general confidence with computer use (aOR=1.058; 95%CI 1.012-1.106) were significantly associated with higher odds of taking both types of CE courses. Conclusions: A high percentage of Lebanese pharmacists enrolled in the CE system, mainly driven by motivation and value of CE, in addition to a higher general confidence in computer use. Further efforts should be exerted by the Lebanese Order of Pharmacists to motivate pharmacists and help them improve their computer literacy, which is expected to improve not only enrollment in CE activities, but also the completion of their CE requirements.

Background Most pharmacists agree that continuing education (CE) programs positively affect their practice and increase their knowledge, with computer-based courses being their preferred type of CE (60.6%). The route to using medical e-services and e-learning is not straightforward. High setup costs and time commitments to sustain quality are issues brought up in this respect. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to validate the general confidence with computer use (GCWCU) scale and assess computer literacy and its associated factors among Lebanese pharmacists. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted, using a random sample of Lebanese pharmacists from all districts of Lebanon. The general confidence with computer use (GCWCU) scale was used to assess computer literacy. Results This study enrolled 628 (83.73%) pharmacists. The GCWCU items converged over two factors (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.716). A higher GCWCU was associated with the ease of access to the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon e-library (beta = 2.58), owning a tablet (beta = 2.80), being connected for 4 h daily (beta = 2.71), the ease of access to the learning management system (beta = 2.39), holding a PhD (beta = 4.28) or a PharmD (beta = 1.16), and working in hospitals (beta = 2.60). Conclusion This study showed that the GCWCU is adequate to assess computer literacy in Lebanese pharmacists and identified factors affecting and/or associated with computer literacy. It presented insights into essential computer skills and abilities of Lebanese pharmacists and identified factors associated with their general confidence with computer use in their practice. These findings would help decision-makers and CE providers design learning materials for pharmacists to improve their computer literacy for better practice and patient care.

BackgroundThe international guideline for urticaria recommends the use of the Urticaria Activity Score 7 (UAS7) and the Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire (CU‐Q2oL) to assess patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) for their disease activity and impact on quality of life, respectively. Over the last decade, both tools have been validated in many different languages but not in Arabic.ObjectiveTo validate the Arabic UAS7 and CU‐Q2oL in patients with CSU in Lebanon.MethodsAfter a structured translation process of both instruments into Arabic, their construct and known‐groups validity as well as internal consistency reliability were tested in a longitudinal prospective study using a cluster sample of 152 Lebanese CSU patients. The study also included a repetitive administration of both instruments in 2‐week intervals in 44 patients in order to assess their test‐retest reliability.ResultsBoth the Arabic UAS7 and CU‐Q2oL demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach alpha of 0.95 and 0.82, respectively) and moderate‐to‐high test‐retest reliability (intraclass coefficient of 0.61 and 0.91, respectively). Exploratory factor analysis of the Arabic CU‐Q2oL revealed five components that explained 81.8% of the total variance. Significant correlations were found between the Arabic CU‐Q2oL and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) (r = 0.86) and mild‐to‐moderate correlations between the Arabic UAS7 and CU‐Q2oL (r = 0.52) as well as the DLQI (r = 0.51).ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate that the Arabic versions of the UAS7 and the CU‐Q2oL are valid and reliable patient‐reported outcome measures in patients with CSU in Lebanon.