Drug shortage is a global issue affecting low, middle, and high-income countries. Many countries have developed various strategies to overcome the problem, while the problem is accelerating, affecting the whole world. All types of drugs, such as essential life-saving drugs, oncology medicines, antimicrobial drugs, analgesics, opioids, cardiovascular drugs, radiopharmaceutical, and parenteral products, are liable to the shortage. Among all pharmaceutical dosage forms, sterile injectable products have a higher risk of shortage than other forms. The causes of shortage are multifactorial, including supply issues, demand issues, and regulatory issues. Supply issues consist of manufacturing problems, unavailability of raw materials, logistic problems, and business problems. In contrast, demand issues include just-in-time inventory, higher demand for a product, seasonal demand, and unpredictable demand. For regulatory issues, one important factor is the lack of a unified definition of drug shortage. Drug shortage affects all stakeholders from economic, clinical, and humanistic aspects. WHO established global mitigation strategies from four levels to overcome drug shortages globally. It includes a workaround to tackle the current shortage, operational improvements to reduce the shortage risk and achieve early warning, changes in governmental policies, and education and training of all health professionals about managing shortages.
The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has significantly affected the mental health of people globally. This study aimed to investigate the mental health status and associated factors among residents of Pakistan. An online questionnaire survey was conducted from April 3 to May 7, 2020, using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Data regarding demographics, physical health status and contact history during the last 2 weeks were collected. Furthermore, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scales (DASS-21) were utilized to measure the mental health of the participants. The analyses included descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Of the 1663 participants who completed this survey, 1598 met the inclusion criteria. The results revealed mild to moderate depression among 390 participants (24.4%), mild to moderate anxiety among 490 participants (30.7%) and mild to moderate stress among 52 participants (3.3%). A majority of the participants rated their health as good (n = 751, 47.0%). Moreover, students reported significantly higher scores on depression (B = 1.29, 95% CI = 0.71-1.88; p < 0.05), anxiety (B = 0.56, 95% CI =-0.06 to 1.18; p < 0.05) and stress (B = 0.56, 95% CI =-0.12 to 1.23; p < 0.05). Physical symptoms, including fever, cough and myalgia, and contact history in the last 14 days reported significant associations with depression, anxiety and stress (p < 0.05). The mental health status of the people was noted to be affected during the COVID-19 outbreak. Assessment of several factors with significant associations with depression, anxiety and stress may aid in developing psychological interventions for vulnerable groups.
Countries need healthcare professionals who are competent first responders with a positive attitude and prepared to deal with catastrophes. The study evaluated the knowledge, attitude, and readiness of the practice of healthcare professionals towards disaster management. A survey was carried out among hospital healthcare professionals using a self-administered validated questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised knowledge, attitude, and readiness to practice items. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis, correlation and regression tests) at alpha = 0.05 were used in the analysis. The mean (SD) score of knowledge was 12.25 (4.27) (range: 3.00 to 20.00), attitude (39.32 ± 9.55; range: 18.00 to 61.00), readiness to practice (32.41 ± 6.69; range: 21.00 to 61.00), and KArP (83.99 ± 12.21; range: 60.00 to 124.00). The average knowledge score was moderate, low attitude score, moderate readiness to practice score, and an average score of overall KArP. Attitude is a significant predictor of readiness to practice (p = 0.000). The levels of knowledge, attitude, and readiness of the practice of healthcare professionals were not satisfactory. The educators and health policymakers should build a robust curriculum in disaster medicine management and preparedness to prepare for the future of competent healthcare professionals for the nation.
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