Background Patients in Yemen commonly visit community pharmacies to obtain consultation or treatment for common ailments. Community pharmacists have an opportunity to optimize medication use and improve patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes and practices of community pharmacists regarding their participation in public health activities and barriers to their participation in these activities. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out among community pharmacists working in pharmacies located in urban areas of the Aden governorate of Yemen from March to June 2017 using a self-administered questionnaire. We selected pharmacies from a line list using proportional sampling according to the number of pharmacies in the urban areas of each district. The questionnaire contained four sections: demographic characteristics, attitudes, practices, and barriers encountered. Data were analyzed descriptively, and the Chi-square test was used for analyzing the association of variables (alpha = 0.05). Results The questionnaire was distributed to 200 community pharmacists working in community pharmacies. Of the 200 respondents, 62% ( n = 124) were male. Overall, the mean age (sd) was 30.0 years (8.6) with the number of years of work experience between 2 and 9.9 years ( n = 158, 79%). On average, 62.3% of the pharmacists had a positive attitude toward participation in public health activities. Providing education to stop tobacco chewing, smoking, alcohol drinking and improve oral hygiene was an important activity of the community pharmacists. Blood pressure measurements (86%, n = 172) and glucose tests (45%, n = 90) were commonly conducted for clients. Lack of time (71%, n = 142) and lack of teamwork (70%, n = 140) were mentioned as common barriers to participation in public health activities. Conclusions Community pharmacists had a positive attitude toward public health activities. Health education and routine health tests were important practices of the community pharmacists. Barriers need to be overcome to enable more active participation by community pharmacists in public health activities by consulting with all stakeholders, assessing the situation, considering alternatives and taking action. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-4133-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Background. There is a rapid deterioration in the effectiveness of antibiotics due to the global prevalence of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR can cause an increase in mortality and morbidity due to treatment failures and a lack of effective therapy. Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the AMR pattern of different bacterial isolates at hospitals and laboratories. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study from March 2019 to June 2019 was conducted at different governmental and private hospitals and laboratories in Aden, Yemen. Age, sex, specimen type, bacterial isolates, and antibiotic susceptibility pattern were collected using a data extraction sheet. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Result. Data were recorded for 412 patients from whom 20 clinical specimens were collected and analyzed. The most common bacteria isolated were Staphylococcus spp. (n=172, 41.74%), E. coli (n=164, 39.80%), Pseudomonas spp. (n=37, 8.98%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=18, 4.36%); other bacteria were less common. The overall bacterial resistance was highest against the combination of sulfamethoxazole with trimethoprim (73.12%), followed by amoxicillin and clavulanate (65.19%). The cephalosporin antibiotics also showed high resistance rates. The study also showed moderate bacterial resistance to gentamycin (32.65%), azithromycin (29.92%), cefoxitin (62.65%), and ciprofloxacin (25.60%). Ertapenem (16.67%) and levofloxacin (15.56%) had the lowest resistance rates. Conclusion. There was a high percentage of bacteria resistant to several antibiotics. Antibiotic susceptibility testing is a prerequisite guide for the selection of appropriate antibiotic therapy for bacterial infections.
Objective: To assess patients' perspectives towards community pharmacists as health care professionals by evaluating their performance in terms of patients' perception and satisfaction. Methods: Patients' perception and satisfaction are widely used healthcare direct pointers to evaluate Pharmaceutical health care services. To examine these two parameters, a questionnaire was developed, including statements to assess the patients' level of compatibility towards their community pharmaceutical care settings, along with their demographic data. The responses of patients' satisfaction and perception of pharmaceutical care settings were interpreted as percentages. Results: The responses of patient perception estimated that the pharmacist knows well how to use medication and warns about the dose or any problem in taking the medications before dispensing the medication. However, pharmacist is not an expert in suggesting treatment for minor ailments and he should not advise patients on general health issues other than drugs. Patients satisfied with the simple, clear and understandable language used by the pharmacist in discussing drug related issues and the kind of care and, kindness and respect in communication, nevertheless they least satisfied with the privacy maintained by pharmacist while discussing with patients and dispensing medications. Conclusion: Patients' expectations from pharmacists as successful therapists with decent communication profiles were positively evaluated. Paradoxically, other aspects such as the amount of time spent with each patient and general health issues advice did not meet our prospects, which clarify the need for a more solid pharmaceutical health care system to meet the potentials for full patients' perception and satisfaction.
Background: Medicine and medical supplies are often in short supply in countries suffering from the scourge of conflict. Effective medicine supply policies are lacking in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly during conflict. This study aimed to assess the availability of essential medicines in both the public and private healthcare sectors. Methods: The study was conducted by administering a survey from November 2017 to February 2018 using the World Health Organization/Health Action International (WHO/HAI) guidelines and methodology. Thirty healthcare facilities in thirteen districts from three governorates in Yemen were included in the assessment of thirty essential medicines. The results were reported as frequencies and percentages of outlets with available medicines on the day of data collection. Results: A set of 30 vital and essential medicines were selected from the list of essential medicines that are used in healthcare centers in Yemen to treat prevalent diseases. In general, only 52.8% of the selected medicines were available in public and private healthcare settings. The distribution and availability of medicines in the three governorates were approximately equal. The availability of medicines was better in the private healthcare settings, specifically 73.3% in private hospitals and approximately 79.7% in private pharmacies. Conclusions: The availability of essential medicines during this state of conflict in three governorates in Yemen is low, in both public and private hospitals and healthcare centers. Many of the medications that were not available are used to treat chronic illnesses.
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