Health seeking behaviour among Lebanese population: A highlight on seeking care from pharmacists

Soubra, Rabih; Hlais, Sani; Houmani, Nadine; Ghandour, Lina; Hassan, Reda; Joujou, Mohammed; Shaarani, Issam

doi:10.1080/13814788.2021.1917541

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In the literature, HSB has been studied with different scopes. The most commonly used definition is "any action or inaction undertaken by individuals who perceive themselves to have a health problem or to be ill for the purpose of finding an appropriate remedy" [3], and studies adopting this definition always examined the formal health system use or the process of illness responses [2,[4][5][6]. However, one could argue that this definition focuses mainly on illness behaviors [7] and ignores the importance of promoting overall health and well-being, as health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity but rather a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health-Seeking Behavior and Its Associated Technology Use: Interview Study Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Zhang¹,

Lee²,

Teo³

2023

JMIR Aging

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Background Understanding older people’s health-seeking behavior (HSB) is crucial for uncovering their health needs and priorities and developing appropriate policies to address them and avert their disease progression. Technologies play an active role in our daily lives and have been incorporated into health activities to support the older population and facilitate their HSB. However, previous studies of HSB have mainly focused on behaviors during illness, and there are limited studies on how technologies have been used in older people’s health-seeking activities. Objective This study aimed to investigate HSB and the associated technology use among the older population, ultimately proposing implications for practice to address their unmet health needs. Methods This paper presents partial data from a large qualitative study, which has been approved by the institutional review board and used a phenomenological approach. Semistructured interviews were conducted between April 2022 and July 2022, either via Zoom (Zoom Video Communications Inc) or face-to-face sessions. Inclusion criteria were being aged ≥50 years, long-term residence in Singapore, and being able to speak English or Mandarin. The interviews were manually transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was performed, with the individual as the unit of analysis to understand the patterns of behaviors. Results In total, 15 interviews were conducted to reach thematic saturation. We identified 5 main consequences of HSB, which were aligned with the original HSB model. Regarding technology use in health seeking, 4 themes were extracted: the most widely used digital technologies are the mobile health apps and wearable devices with the associated wellness programs launched by the government and local companies, and they have the potential to enhance health communication, promote health maintenance, and increase access to health services; information communication technologies and social media, though not primarily designed for health purposes, play a substantial role in easing the process of seeking health information and managing symptoms. Although the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some alterations to older adults’ well-being, it has catalyzed the adoption of telehealth as a complement to access health care services, and older adults have different considerations when selecting technologies to facilitate their health seeking and fulfill their health needs. Moreover, 4 archetypes were proposed based on our findings and the insights gained from our participants’ observations in their social networks. These findings led to several implications for practice regarding health communication and promotion, health education, technology design and improvement, telemonitoring service implementation, and solutions to address the needs of each proposed archetype. Conclusions Unlike the commonly held belief that older adults resist technologies and lack technological proficiency, our findings showed that technologies could play a promising role in facilitating older adults’ health seeking. Our findings have implications for the design and implementation of health services and policies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health-Seeking Behavior and Its Associated Technology Use: Interview Study Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Zhang¹,

Lee²,

Teo³

2023

JMIR Aging

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“…This finding is consistent with a previous study where the Lebanese population believes that pharmacists are capable of dealing with common medical complaints. [ 3 ]…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 2 ] Similarly, in Lebanon, due to the absence of a robust and efficient healthcare system, the presence of a high rate of uninsured citizens and the lack of national health authorities’ supervision, the Lebanese population primarily accesses community pharmacists for free consultations for diagnosis and treatment. [ 3 , 4 ] Patients exhibiting mild symptoms may be treated at home and may elect to consider using over-the-counter (OTC) medications and supplements. [ 5 ] Community pharmacists are in a unique position to promote and ensure the safe use of OTC products.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coronavirus disease patients’ views and experiences of pharmaceutical care services in Lebanon

Mukattash

Jarab

Al‐Qerem

et al. 2021

International Journal of Pharmacy Practice

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Objectives This study aimed to explore the experiences and views of domiciliary coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients towards pharmaceutical care services provided during their infection. Methods This was a single-centred observational study conducted among home-treated COVID-19 patients (n = 500), who were tested positive for COVID-19 in a medical centre in Lebanon. Key findings Out of the 500 home-treated COVID-19 patients invited to participate in the study, 279 patients completed the questionnaire. Although the participants had a good view of pharmacists caring for COVID-19 patients (mean view score: 17.79/25), their treatment experiences were unsatisfactory (mean experience score: 1.51/4). Conclusions COVID-19 patients reported minimal involvement of pharmacists in their treatment. Therefore, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare authorities should intervene in restructuring, guiding and reviewing unrealized new pharmaceutical services to COVID-19 outpatients.

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“…The influence of community pharmacists as health and pharmaceutical care providers is great on their societies worldwide due to their high accessibility and availability. [26][27][28][29][30][31] Serving community needs concerning medical devices is an essential emerging role expected to be fulfilled efficiently by community pharmacists everywhere. 32,33 This is specifically important due to the increasing concerns about bioethical and healthcare concepts like autonomy, patients' rights, and self-care, which give patients and consumers more rights and roles in making decisions and caring for their own health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical Devices-Related Counseling Practices Among Community Pharmacists: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia

Fathelrahman

2021

IPRP

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Objective The current study was conducted to assess medical devices-related counseling practices among community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study conducted among community pharmacists from Saudi Arabia using a convenience sampling technique. An online questionnaire based on Google forms was used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted using SPSS statistics 22. Student t -test, one way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation statistics were used where applicable. Results with a p -value of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results One thousand and six community pharmacists responded to the survey. Males’ rating of their ability to operate medical devices was significantly higher than females (overall average score of 3.8 versus 3.5, p =0.033). As years of experience increased there were slight but significant increases in the overall scores on ability to operate medical devices ( p =0.002) and confidence to counsel patients about the devices ( p =0.032). Those who got a board certification used devices for self-treatment significantly more than their counterparts (on average 6.9 devices versus 5.2, p =0.003). Those who received clinical training reported higher rates of ability to use/operate devices ( p =0.011), confidence to counsel patients on devices ( p =0.001), and counseling practice ( p =0.044) than those who did not receive clinical training. Conclusion The present study revealed good to very good self-reported medical devices-related counseling practices. There is a need for more future rigorous research to evaluate pharmacists' actual practice in this area. Pharmacy educators and CPD programs should pay attention to updating pharmacists’ knowledge and skills and improve their contribution to medical devices supportive services.

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Health seeking behaviour among Lebanese population: A highlight on seeking care from pharmacists

Cited by 9 publications

References 23 publications

Health-Seeking Behavior and Its Associated Technology Use: Interview Study Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Health-Seeking Behavior and Its Associated Technology Use: Interview Study Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Coronavirus disease patients’ views and experiences of pharmaceutical care services in Lebanon

Medical Devices-Related Counseling Practices Among Community Pharmacists: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia

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