Suchergebnisse

The continuously escalating burden of COVID-19 pandemic is challenging the health care systems around the world. The healthcare professionals of different specialties throughout the globe are working day and night for its proper mitigation. Pharmacists are healthcare professionals who are working on the frontline for the management of COVID-19 in different settings. In this review, we highlight the potential roles pharmacists can play for effective management of COVID-19. The collaborative effort of all professionals, including healthcare and other stakeholders is necessary for the appropriate management of such pandemic. Pharmacists, having expertise in clinical as well as administrative aspects, can play a pivotal role in extended health services (EHS) from prevention to eradication of COVID-19. Firm determination, inter- and intra- professional collaboration, and legislative support are mandatory for the rational practice of professionalism in such disasters.

The prevalence of unused medications in homes has dramatically increased in recent decades, which has resulted in medication wastage. The aim of this study is to review the prevalence of unused medications in homes and to determine the reasons behind this disuse, so as to help reduce such wastage. The review also sheds light on current methods of disposal of unwanted medications. Here, using a narrative review, we provide an overview of the issues of unused medications, medication wastage, and methods of disposal. We conducted an extensive literature search focusing on subject-related keywords, as given in the methods section below. A search was undertaken through indexing services available in the library of the authors' institution. Full-text papers concerned with the prevalence of unused medications in homes, written in English language between 1992 and 2018, were retrieved and reviewed. Twenty-five related studies performed in different world regions were reviewed and included. The public, healthcare providers, and governments are all accused of promoting medication wastage in different ways, and thus, they need to be targeted to solve the problem. It was also noticed that the prevalence of unused medications is high in many countries. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are among the most frequently wasted medications, and most of the public just dispose of their expired medications in the trash or toilet. Non-adherence, death, and medication change are among the main causes of medication accumulation and consequent wastage. A lack of policies to return unwanted medications in some countries, as well as public unawareness, carelessness, or illiteracy, are reasons for improper disposal of unused medications that may lead to adverse economic and environmental impacts. Various mitigation strategies (e.g., smart medicine cabinet) have emerged to reduce medication wastage. Joint work among the public, healthcare providers, and various governmental and private organizations is needed to adequately address the ...

Background: With the increased availability of safe antiretroviral therapy (ART) in recent years, achieving optimal adherence and patient retention is becoming the biggest challenge for people living with HIV (PLWH). Care retention is influenced by several socioeconomic, socio-cultural, and government policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we aim to explore barriers and facilitators to adherence to ART among PLWH in Pakistan in general and COVID-19 pandemic related in particular. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 25 PLWH from December 2020 to April 2021 in the local language (Urdu) at the ART centre of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan. Interviews were audio-recorded in the local Urdu language, and bilingual expert (English, Urdu) transcribed verbatim, coded for themes and sub-themes, and analyzed using a phenomenological approach for thematic content analysis. Results: Stigma and discrimination, fear of HIV disclosure, economic constraints, forgetfulness, religion (Ramadan, spiritual healing), adverse drug reactions, lack of social support, alternative therapies, and COVID-19-related lock-down and fear of lesser COVID-19 care due to HIV associated stigma were identified as barriers affecting the retention in HIV care. At the same time, positive social support, family responsibilities, use of reminders, the beneficial impact of ART, and initiation of telephone consultations, courier delivery, and long-term delivery of antiretrovirals during COVID-19 were identified as facilitators of HIV retention. Conclusion: Improving adherence and retention is even more challenging due to COVID-19; therefore, it requires the integration of enhanced access to treatment with improved employment and social support. HIV care providers must understand these reported factors comprehensively and treat patients accordingly to ensure the continuum of HIV care. A coordinated approach including different stakeholders is required to facilitate patient retention in HIV care and ...

Iltaf Hussain,1 Muhammad Fawad Rasool,1 Imran Imran,2 Hamid Saeed,3 Furqan Hashmi,3 Muqarrab Akbar,4 Muhammad Asad Abrar,1 Basit Ramzan,5 Muhammad Omer Chaudhry,6 Muhammad Islam,3 Areeba Usman,7 Naveed Nisar,8 Abdul Majeed1 1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; 2Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; 3University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Allama Iqbal Campus, Lahore 54000, Pakistan; 4Department of Political Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; 5Al Shifa Pharmacy, Multan, Pakistan; 6School of Economics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; 7Nishter Medical Hospital, Multan, Pakistan; 8Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, PakistanCorrespondence: Abdul MajeedDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, PakistanTel +92 3336139819Email abdulmajeed@bzu.edu.pkBackground and Purpose: Over the past few decades, the focus of pharmacy practice has been shifted from the classical role of drug dispenser to pharmacotherapy expert. Pharmacists now are more often involved in the patient care process by addressing the drug-related needs of the patients and this patient-centered approach is known as pharmaceutical care (PC). The present study was conducted to assess the attitude of pharmacy undergraduate students toward PC and various contributing factors that influence their preference towards it.Method and Instrument: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 422 undergraduate pharmacy students by using a simple random sampling method. A pre-validated and self-reported Pharmaceutical Care Attitude Scale (PCAS) was used for assessing a student's attitude towards PC.Results: Amongst the 422 undergraduate students, the majority were males (68.2%) and 70.4% were between the age group of 20 and 25 years. The students studying in third, fourth, and fifth year (final year) were 140 (33.2%), 142 (33.6%), and 140 (33.2%), respectively. Overall participant showed a positive attitude toward the PC. Professional year showed significant influence on professional duties (PD) (p< 0.001) and age was significantly associated with return on efforts (ROE) (p< 0.001) and professional benefits (PB) (p< 0.001).Conclusion: Most of the participants showed a positive attitude toward PC and showed motivation to practice it. To promote PC practice in Pakistan, the government along with other professional bodies like Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA) should work together in collaboration with global health agencies to develop a well-structured advanced healthcare system in which there is a defined role of PC practice.Keywords: attitude, clinical pharmacy, pharmaceutical care, pharmacy practice

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Over the past few decades, the focus of pharmacy practice has been shifted from the classical role of drug dispenser to pharmacotherapy expert. Pharmacists now are more often involved in the patient care process by addressing the drug-related needs of the patients and this patient-centered approach is known as pharmaceutical care (PC). The present study was conducted to assess the attitude of pharmacy undergraduate students toward PC and various contributing factors that influence their preference towards it. METHOD AND INSTRUMENT: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 422 undergraduate pharmacy students by using a simple random sampling method. A pre-validated and self-reported Pharmaceutical Care Attitude Scale (PCAS) was used for assessing a student's attitude towards PC. RESULTS: Amongst the 422 undergraduate students, the majority were males (68.2%) and 70.4% were between the age group of 20 and 25 years. The students studying in third, fourth, and fifth year (final year) were 140 (33.2%), 142 (33.6%), and 140 (33.2%), respectively. Overall participant showed a positive attitude toward the PC. Professional year showed significant influence on professional duties (PD) (p<0.001) and age was significantly associated with return on efforts (ROE) (p<0.001) and professional benefits (PB) (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Most of the participants showed a positive attitude toward PC and showed motivation to practice it. To promote PC practice in Pakistan, the government along with other professional bodies like Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA) should work together in collaboration with global health agencies to develop a well-structured advanced healthcare system in which there is a defined role of PC practice.

Abdul Majeed,1 Iltaf Hussain,1 Imran Imran,2 Muhammad Usman Saleem,3 Hamid Saeed,4 Muhammad Asad Abrar,1 Muhammad Islam,4 Furqan K Hashmi,4 Muqarrab Akbar,5 Basit Ramzan,6 Muhammad Omer Chaudhry,7 Waseem Ashraf,2 Muhammad F Rasool1 1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan; 2Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan; 3Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan; 4University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Allama Iqbal Campus, Lahore, Pakistan; 5Department of Political Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan; 6Al Shifa Pharmacy, Multan, Pakistan; 7School of Economics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, PakistanCorrespondence: Muhammad F RasoolDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, PakistanTel +92 3008639046Email fawadrasool@bzu.edu.pkBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic is not only affecting public health, but it is also impairing the specialized surgical care services in the hospitals. The present study aimed to assess the barriers faced by the surgeons while performing surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted from September 10 to October 14, 2020. The study population consisted of surgeons practicing in Kpk, Pakistan. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data.Results: A total of 292, out of 543, surgeons participated in the study (response rate: 59.6%). The younger surgeons (25– 30 years) considered the lack of policies and practices regarding exposure to COVID-19 patients as a significant barrier to their practice. The surgeons practicing in private hospitals considered themselves at a higher risk while providing surgical care to the COVID-19 patients. The non-cooperation of the patients was the main barrier in delivering surgical care services.Conclusion and Recommendation: The current study highlighted the barriers to the surgeons while providing surgical care to patients in the current pandemic. The most pronounced barriers to the surgeons were the lack of policies regarding exposure to COVID-19 and practice and non-cooperation of the patient. To address these barriers, it is recommended that health regulatory agencies of Pakistan should implement strict infection control practices to ensure the safety of surgeons and allied healthcare staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords: COVID-19, nCoV-2, surgeons, barriers

Abdul Majeed,1 Muhammad Rehman,1 Iltaf Hussain,1 Imran Imran,2 Muhammad Usman Saleem,3 Hamid Saeed,4 Furqan K Hashmi,4 Muqarrab Akbar,5 Muhammad Asad Abrar,1 Basit Ramzan,6 Muhammad Omer Chaudhry,7 Muhammad Islam,4 Naveed Nisar,8 Muhammad Fawad Rasool1 1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan; 2Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan; 3Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan; 4University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Allama Iqbal Campus, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan; 5Department of Political Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan; 6Al Shifa Pharmacy, Multan, Pakistan; 7School of Economics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan; 8Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, PakistanCorrespondence: Muhammad Fawad RasoolDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Multan, PakistanTel +923008639046Email fawadrasool@bzu.edu.pkAim: The current study was conducted to assess the factors contributing to treatment adherence and its impact on the quality of life (QoL) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2020 to March 2020 among T2DM patients. The data was collected from T2DM out-patient clinics. The participants were recruited by using a simple random sampling method. To assess the association of demographics with the level of adherence, binary logistics regression analysis was applied. Moreover, the Mann–Whitney U-test was used to evaluate the impact of adherence on QoL.Results: A total of 384 patients participated in this study. Amongst them, 60.2% were male and 39.8% were female. Low adherence was seen in illiterate patients and patients older than 40 years. The results showed that good QoL in T2DM patients was significantly associated with treatment adherence (p= 0.004).Conclusion: The finding of the current study showed that the non-adherence prevailed in illiterate strata of the study population and the medication adherence significantly affects the QoL in T2DM patients. These findings suggest that health regulatory agencies should focus on implementing disease-education interventions for improving the adherence to medications in patients with long-term conditions.Keywords: type 2 diabetes, drug adherence, quality of life

Muhammad Subhan Arshad,1 Iltaf Hussain,1 Muhammad Nafees,1 Abdul Majeed,1 Imran Imran,2 Hamid Saeed,3 Furqan K Hashmi,3 Muqarrab Akbar,4 Muhammad Asad Abrar,1 Basit Ramzan,5 Muhammad Omer Chaudhry,6 Muhammad Islam,3 Areeba Usman,7 Naveed Nisar,8 Muhammad Fawad Rasool1 1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; 2Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; 3University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Allama Iqbal Campus, Lahore 54000, Pakistan; 4Department of Political Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; 5Al Shifa Pharmacy, Multan, Pakistan; 6School of Economics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; 7Nishter Medical Hospital, Multan, Pakistan; 8Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, PakistanCorrespondence: Muhammad Fawad RasoolDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, PakistanTel +92 3008639046Email fawadrasool@bzu.edu.pkPurpose: The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) has been associated with psychological distress during its rapid rise period in Pakistan. The present study aimed to assess the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) in the three metropolitan cities of Pakistan.Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based study was conducted in 276 HCWs from April 10, 2020, to June 5, 2020. Depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) were used for the mental health assessment of the HCWs. Multivariable logistic regression analysis (MLRA) was performed to measure the association between the demographics and the occurrence of depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS).Results: The frequency of DAS in the HCWs was 10.1%, 25.4%, and 7.3%, respectively. The MLRA showed that the depression in HCWs was significantly associated with the profession (P< 0.001). The anxiety in HCWs was significantly associated with their age (P=0.005), profession (P< 0.05), and residence (P< 0.05). The stress in HCWs was significantly associated with their age (P< 0.05).Limitation: This study was conducted in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of COVID-19 cases was on the rise in Pakistan and it only represents a definite period (April to June 2020).Conclusion: The symptoms of DAS are present in the HCWs of Pakistan and to manage the psychological health of HCWs, there is a need for the initiation of psychological well-being programs.Keywords: depression, anxiety, stress, pandemic, DASS-21