Impact of a Pharmacist-Led Patient Education Initiative on Glycemic Control of Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Single-Center Experience in West Jakarta, Indonesia

Objective: This study was conducted to identify the types of minor ailments encountered by university students in Malaysia and the action taken in response to these ailments. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate students from the various faculties in a major private and a public university in Malaysia. A researcher stationed at different areas of the universities to recruit respondents. If the student agreed to participate, he/she would sign a consent form and then self-filled a structured questionnaire. Results: Of the 856 respondents included in this study, 68.6% were female and 60.6% rated their health status as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. During the one month period prior to the study, 87.4% of the respondents encountered at least one minor ailment. The five most common minor ailments encountered were headache (58.1%), common cold (42.8%), sore throat (42.6%), cough (40.3%) and back pain (27.6%). The main actions taken were rest at home and self-medication. The most common drug used for the treatment of minor ailments was paracetamol (49% of the respondents). Other drugs were used by less than 10% of the respondents. The main source of information was from parents (63.7%), followed by doctors (59.9%), internet (57.9%), pharmacists (33.9%) and friends (33.5%). Conclusion: Headache is more common among university students compared to the general population. Further studies are required to understand the cause of headache among this population.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Health Seeking Behavior Towards Minor Ailments Among University Students in Malaysia

Tan

Chua

2021

“…A study conducted in Indonesia resulted in a decrease in mean HbAlc at all follow-ups and the number of patients with optimal HbAlc values increased after each follow-up [14]. Moreover, the lipid level improved at every measurement by about 50%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Intervention of Clinical Pharmacist in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Outpatients

Mathews¹

2021

Objective: The purpose of the study was to analyze the effect of clinical pharmacist intervention on glycemic control based on fasting blood glucose and glycosylated blood glucose level. Methods: A randomized prospective interventional study was conducted in the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital. Patients suffering from diabetes for a least 2 y were selected for the study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The control group was not given any special pharmacist care, while the interventional group had a face-to-face interview, counseling, and telephonic follow-up during the study period. Based on the baseline values and endpoint parametric values, the result of the study was analyzed. Results: The study was analyzed based on the difference in the glycemic index, using HbA1c and FBS values. The basal values of HbA1c were similar for both groups (8.5%), but a marked reduction to 7.2% was observed in the interventional group. FBS values reduced from 208 mg/dl to 186 mg/dl in the intervention group, while in the usual care group, the reduction was from 211 mg/dl to 198 mg/dl. Conclusion: The inclusion of clinical pharmacists in the healthcare team can offer a remarkable improvement in patient's condition by providing more support in the therapy.

“…However, other studies have suggested that patients tend to trust their pharmacists more with drug information, approaching them prior to contacting their physicians with cost or adherence concerns [15]. Likewise, pharmacists can play an important role in safe and efficient use of medication, especially for patients with chronic diseases [16,17], such as the use of insulin pen in elderly diabetic patients [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trusting the Pharmacist in Delivering Medication Information: A Community-Based Perspective

Dimassi

Makhoul

Khabsa

et al. 2019

Objective: Optimal disease management is influenced by a solid patient-health provider relationship; which includes trust in the provider. The study compares respondents’ trust in pharmacists and physicians for the delivery of drug information. Methods: Residents of 3 rural communities in Lebanon, aged 40 and above, were invited to participate in the study, 760 accepted. Participants were asked who they trust the most with information about their medication: their physician or their pharmacist. Results: Of the total sample, 154 chose the pharmacist as their most trusted source of medication information (20%). Characteristics associated with choosing the pharmacist were: being a male (29.3% vs 16.2% p<.001), of younger age (31.5% among<50 y, 18.8% among 50-64 y, and 14.6% among 65+years p<.001), single (31.6% vs 21.9% married and 9.3 others, p=0.023), working (39.2% vs15.7% p<.001), and insured (2.3% vs 16.4% p=0.048). The multivariate logistic regression model revealed that having a family member with hypertension (OR=1.86 95% 1.23-2.82), or cardiovascular (OR=3.39 95%CI 1.55-7.45) increased the likelihood of trusting pharmacists over medical doctor. On the other hand, a self-report of cardiovascular disease (OR=0.34 95% CI 0.12-0.95) and taking medication (OR=0.41 95% CI 0.25-0.67) were associated with a decrease in the trust in the pharmacist in favor of the physician. Conclusion: Although pharmacists are the drug specialists, the majority of the Lebanese rural community residents reported higher trust in their physicians with information about their medication(s).