Background: Antimicrobial stewardship is currently not mandatory as part of the undergraduate training of pharmacists. Identifying gaps in knowledge and a better understanding of pharmacy students' perceptions about antimicrobial stewardship could assist in recommendations for appropriate changes to the pharmacy degree curricula that may lead to more appropriate use of antimicrobials, within the multidisciplinary team. Methods: A descriptive quantitative study with a survey design was conducted at the eight universities offering the pharmacy degree in South Africa. An electronic questionnaire with four main categories on antimicrobial stewardship was administered to final (fourth) year pharmacy students (June-August 2015). Results: An overall response rate of 26.6% (n = 260) was obtained from 978 students, despite a weekly reminder. Most of the respondents were familiar with antimicrobial stewardship programmes in South Africa (71.9%), and claimed to know what antimicrobial stewardship is (83.5%) with significant differences between the universities (p < 0.001). Only 37.7% of the respondents recalled having had formal training on antimicrobial stewardship, with responses from the eight universities differing significantly (p < 0.001). However, almost all respondents (98.5%) felt that a strong knowledge of antimicrobials was important for their future career, with 90.0% indicating that they would like more training on antimicrobial stewardship at undergraduate level. Conclusion: There were significant differences between the eight universities with regards to undergraduate education on antimicrobial stewardship. In order to help prevent antimicrobial resistance, efforts should be made to introduce concepts of antimicrobial stewardship into the undergraduate pharmacy curricula to promote better use of antimicrobials and prevent antimicrobial resistance.
Background: Antimicrobial stewardship is currently not mandatory as part of the undergraduate training of pharmacists. Identifying gaps in knowledge and a better understanding of pharmacy students’ perceptions about antimicrobial stewardship could assist in recommendations for appropriate changes to the pharmacy degree curricula that may lead to more appropriate use of antimicrobials, within the multi-disciplinary team.Methods: A descriptive quantitative study with a survey design was conducted at the eight universities offering the pharmacy degree in South Africa. An electronic questionnaire with four main categories on antimicrobial stewardship was administered to final (fourth) year pharmacy students (June–August 2015).Results: An overall response rate of 26.6% (n = 260) was obtained from 978 students, despite a weekly reminder. Most of the respondents were familiar with antimicrobial stewardship programmes in South Africa (71.9%), and claimed to know what antimicrobial stewardship is (83.5%) with significant differences between the universities (p 0.001). Only 37.7% of the respondents recalled having had formal training on antimicrobial stewardship, with responses from the eight universities differing significantly (p 0.001). However, almost all respondents (98.5%) felt that a strong knowledge of antimicrobials was important for their future career, with 90.0% indicating that they would like more training on antimicrobial stewardship at undergraduate level.Conclusion: There were significant differences between the eight universities with regards to undergraduate education on antimicrobial stewardship. In order to help prevent antimicrobial resistance, efforts should be made to introduce concepts of antimicrobial stewardship into the undergraduate pharmacy curricula to promote better use of antimicrobials and prevent antimicrobial resistance.
BackgroundPatient satisfaction has been used as a significant indicator of quality services provided by healthcare personnel. With the largest antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme in the world, the healthcare industry is struggling increasingly with challenges of meeting patients’ requirements and expectations for quality ART service provision. This study was conducted in order to identify the importance of factors contributing to satisfaction or dissatisfaction.AimThis study sought to explore and describe the general satisfaction or dissatisfaction of patients with accredited ART hospital sites at public health facilities in the Gert Sibande District, Mpumalanga and to identify factors contributing to either satisfaction or dissatisfaction.SettingSix hospitals that initiated ART in the district, participated in the study.MethodThe study was conducted using a sample of 300 patients. Proportional random sampling was used in selecting the number of patients from each facility. A structured interview with each participating patient was conducted using a standardised structured questionnaire. The first available required number of patients that complied with requirements from each of the six hospitals was selected for the interview. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data and data with qualitative aspects were captured and categorised manually.ResultsThe major factors contributing to satisfaction included the availability of medicines and knowledge regarding how to take medication. Factors contributing to dissatisfaction on the part of the patients included confidentiality issues, long waiting periods, shortage of staff and dirty toilets.ConclusionThis study indicated general satisfaction with the ART-related services at the accredited ART hospital sites in the Gert Sibande District. Regular monitoring and evaluation are recommended.
Objective The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is growing in Sub‐Saharan countries including South Africa. This is a concern given its appreciable impact on morbidity, mortality and costs with the recent introduction of universal health care in South Africa. The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge of patients with T2DM attending a typical community health centre (CHC) regarding the management of their disease including risk factors and prevention to guide future initiatives. Typically, patients with T2DM in South Africa are managed in ambulatory care including CHCs. Method A quantitative, descriptive study in a CHC. The sample included 217 adults with T2DM who have visited a physician as well as the pharmacy. Face‐to‐face patient exit interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire. Key findings Females predominated (65%), with the majority of patients >60 years (38.2%) and more than half from the Indian racial category. Most patients did not know how their medication controls their diabetes (79.3%) or did not know any of the side effects (83.9%) from their medication. Less than half of the patients knew how to take their medication, and more than a third of patients indicated that they were not practicing any form of self‐care. Conclusion The results indicate that these T2DM patients lacked sufficient knowledge regarding the management of their disease. Healthcare managers should consider instigating programmes to improve patients’ knowledge about the management of their disease as part of general initiatives within South Africa to improve the management of patients with chronic diseases in the public sector.
Glaucoma is a complex condition of the eye and the second leading cause of blindness around the globe. It is an ophthalmic neurodegenerative condition and is characterised by a raised intra-ocular pressure (IOP). The latter also constitutes the only modifiable risk factor in glaucoma management. When left untreated patients may gradually experience a visual field loss, and even lose their sight completely. This article provides a brief overview of this condition, the pharmacological treatment options that are available in South Africa, as well as the rational use thereof.
Healthcare workers need to be qualified to deal with the specific requirements of the HIV/AIDS syndrome, which demands technical and scientific knowledge and understanding of the disease. Adequate knowledge about HIV/AIDS is an important means to reduce stress and could result in better care and improve information to the general public. Because of the community service nature of pharmacies, pharmacists are in the front line when it comes to treating minor illnesses, as patients will often approach a pharmacist with a health query before they see a medical practitioner. Hence, pharmacists have opportunities to recognise potential opportunistic infections or other HIV-associated complications and to refer patients for evaluation and management.The objective of this study was to assess the level of scientific knowledge of HIV/AIDS of undergraduate pharmacy students before and after a teaching intervention aimed to improve students’ scientific knowledge of the subject. A controlled study was carried out by administering pre- and post-intervention questionnaires to control and study groups. The study group was taken from the various BPharm student groups during 2004 and 2005. Although each group acted as its own control, an additional control group of first year dentistry students was included in 2005. The mean HIV/AIDS knowledge scores and the knowledge gains of the control and study groups were compared before and after the intervention. The knowledge gains from the interventions were statistically significant. The increases indicate the positive effect of the teaching intervention. The teaching intervention can therefore be recommended to be part of the undergraduate BPharm curriculum.
As HIV/AIDS continues to spread and affect the lives of millions of people, a sense of urgency has developed about the imperative need to stop the epidemic. Education is the key to change knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. There is currently a gap in education programmes targeting youths of ages 18-24 years, for example, those enrolled in tertiary institutions. The aim of the study was therefore to establish the level of HIV/AIDS awareness among undergraduate pharmacy students at the University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus)/Tshwane University of Technology Schools of Pharmacy. A structured questionnaire was administered to pharmacy students on entry to the programme. Although the students of 2003, 2004 and 2005 obtained mean percentage HIV/AIDS awareness scores in the range of 70%-80%, they had inadequate knowledge of some transmission routes, events that occur when HIV invades the body, the "window period" and some symptoms. These knowledge gaps should be addressed by universities by integrating HIV/AIDS policies and education fully into all aspects of their planning, operations and teaching.
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