Introduction. The majority of the population in developing countries including Ethiopia still relies on traditional medicines (TMs). Patients with chronic illness like diabetes mellitus (DM) are dissatisfied with conventional medicines and thus are more likely to simultaneously use herbal medicines (HMs). However, such practice could result in potential herb-drug interaction. This study aimed to identify the commonly used HMs among patients with DM and determine the magnitude of concomitant use of herbal and conventional antidiabetic medicines. Method. A health facility-based cross-sectional study design was employed using both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to determine the magnitude of concomitant use. Patients with DM and prescribers from four public hospitals were the study population for the quantitative and qualitative study, respectively. Simple descriptive statistics were used to describe variables for the quantitative data, and content analysis had been conducted manually for qualitative data. Result. Out of 791 respondents, 409 (51.7%) used traditional medicine at least once in their life time, and 357 (45.1%) used traditional medicine in the last six months prior to data collection. A majority (288 (80.7%)) of the respondents used HMs after starting the conventional antidiabetic medicines within the last six months. Moringa stenopetala, Thymus vulgaris, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Nigella sativa, and Allium sativum were among the frequently mentioned HMs. Prescribers were requesting patients’ HM use when they saw sign of liver toxicity and skin disease, and they were not documenting their history in the patient’s chart. Conclusion. Concomitant use of herbal and conventional antidiabetic medicines was a common practice. Cognizant of its potentially serious herb-drug interactions, efforts should be made to improve awareness and knowledge of healthcare providers about HM potential effects. Further studies on dose, frequency, duration, and modes of interaction are recommended.

Background It was estimated that over a billion people have a disability and around 110 to 190 million experienced significant difficulties in functioning. Similarly, there were over 5 million and 32,630 individuals with disability in Ethiopia and Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, respectively. Health care is a human right, yet access barriers to healthcare remain one of the major challenges among people with disabilities. Community pharmacists are often the health system point of entry for most patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the barriers to community pharmacy service for individuals with physical, visual and hearing disability in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods A cross sectional phenomenological qualitative study design was employed to explore the barriers to community pharmacy service for individuals with Physical, Visual and Hearing disability. All members from Ethiopian National Association of the Blind (ENAB), Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf (ENAD) and Ethiopian National Association of persons with Physical Disability (ENAPPD) and all community pharmacy professionals in Addis Ababa were the study populations in this study. The analysis was made using content analysis where ideas were classified into themes manually. Result All informants with disability pointed out that community pharmacy services were not accessible to them. The study found transportation, physical layout, communication and medication price were the main barriers to obtain community pharmacy services among individuals with visual, physical and hearing disabilities. Respondents also witnessed that pharmacists provided proper counseling and were also cooperative and willing to help them. Conclusions This study indicated that individuals with disability experienced different access barriers to community pharmacy services. Further studies are recommended to identify other community pharmacy disparities and access barriers to pharmacy services and propose possible solutions.

Background: It was estimated that over a billion people have a disability and around 110 to 190 million experienced significant difficulties in functioning. Similarly, there were over 5 million and 32,630 individuals with disability in Ethiopia and Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, respectively. Health care is a human right, yet access barriers to healthcare remain one of the major challenges among people with disabilities. Community pharmacists are often the health system point of entry for most patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the barriers to community pharmacy service for individuals with physical, visual and hearing disability in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Methods: A phenomenological qualitative study design was employed to explore the barriers to community pharmacy service for individuals with Physical, Visual and Hearing disability. All members from Ethiopian National Association of the Blind (ENAB), Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf (ENAD) and Ethiopian National Association of persons with Physical Disability (ENAPPD) and all community pharmacy professionals in Addis Ababa were the study populations in this study. The analysis was made using content analysis where ideas were classified into themes manually.Result: All informants with disability pointed out that community pharmacy services were not accessible to them. The study explored transportation, physical, communication and medication price were the main barriers to obtain community pharmacy services among individuals with visual, physical and hearing disabilities. Respondents also witnessed that pharmacists provided proper counseling and were also cooperative and willing to help them.Conclusion: This study indicated that individuals with disability experienced different access barriers to community pharmacy services. Further studies are recommended to identify other community pharmacy disparities and access barrier to pharmacy services and propose possible solutions.