Patient perceptions of pharmacist roles in guiding self-medication of over-the-counter therapy in Qatar

Kerry Wilbur1, Samah El Salam1, Ebrahim Mohammadi21Qatar University College of Pharmacy, Doha, Qatar; 2Qatar Petroleum Medical Services, Doha, QatarBackground: Self-care, including self-medication with over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, facilitates the public’s increased willingness to assume greater responsibility for their own health. Direct consultation with pharmacists provides efficient professional guidance for safe and appropriate OTC use.Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize patient perceptions of pharmacists and use of nonprescription therapy in an ambulatory care population in Qatar. Methods: Patients having prescriptions filled at one organization’s private medical clinics during two distinct two-week periods were invited to participate in a short verbal questionnaire. Awareness of pharmacist roles in guiding OTC drug selection was assessed, as were patient preferences for OTC indications. Attitudes towards pharmacist and nurse drug knowledge and comfort with direct dispensing were also evaluated.Results: Five hundred seventy patients participated representing 29 countries. Most respondents were men (92.1%) with mean age of 38.3 years. Almost 1 in 7 did not know medical complaints could be assessed by a pharmacist (15.3%) and 1 in 5 (21.9%) were unaware pharmacists could directly supply OTC therapy. The majority (85.3%) would be interested in this service. In general, respondents were more comfortable with medication and related advice supplied by pharmacists as opposed to nursing professionals.Conclusion: Patients were familiar with the roles of pharmacists as they pertain to selfmedication with OTC therapy and described the desire to use such a service within this Qatar ambulatory health care setting.Keywords: patient, self-medication, over-the-counter, pharmacist, Qata

Drug-Related Hospital Visits and Admissions Associated with Laboratory or Physiologic Abnormalities-A Systematic-Review

Countless studies have demonstrated that many emergency-room visits and hospital admissions are drug-related and that a significant proportion of these drug-related visits (DRVs) are preventable. It has not been previously studied which DRVs could be prevented through enhanced monitoring of therapy. The objective of the study was to determine the incidence of DRVs attributed to laboratory or physiologic abnormalities. Three authors independently performed comprehensive searches in relevant health care databases using pre-determined search terms. Articles discussing DRV associated with poisoning, substance abuse, or studied among existing in-patient populations were excluded. Study country, year, sample, design, duration, DRV identification method, proportion of DRVs associated with laboratory or physiologic abnormalities and associated medications were extracted. The three authors independently assessed selected relevant articles according to the Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) as applicable according to the studies' methodology. The initial literature search yielded a total of 1,524 articles of which 30 articles meeting inclusion criteria and reporting sufficient laboratory or physiologic data were included in the overall analysis. Half employed prospective methodologies, which included both chart review and patient interview; however, the overwhelming majority of identified studies assessed only adverse drug reactions (ADRs) as a drug-related cause for DRV. The mean (range) prevalence of DRVs found in all studies was 15.4% (0.44%-66.7%) of which an association with laboratory or physiologic abnormalities could be attributed to a mean (range) of 29.4% (4.3%-78.1%) of cases. Most laboratory-associated DRVs could be linked to immunosuppressant, antineoplastic, anticoagulant and diabetes therapy, while physiologic-associated DRVs were attributed to cardiovascular therapies and NSAIDs. Significant proportions of laboratory and physiologic abnormalities contribute to DRVs and are consistently linked to specific drugs. These therapies are potential targets for enhanced medication monitoring initiatives to proactively avert potential DRVs.The research was funded by a Qatar University student grant.Scopu

A Middle Eastern journey of integrating Interprofessional Education into the healthcare curriculum: a SWOC analysis

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an emerging concept in the Middle East with a number of health professional degree programs continually striving to meet international accreditation requirements to enhance the quality of education and ensure high standards are maintained. Using the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University (CPH QU) as a model, this article describes the IPE initiatives coordinated through the College's IPE Committee, with representation from fourteen programs at four Healthcare institutions: Qatar University; Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar; the University of Calgary in Qatar; and the College of North Atlantic in Qatar. These activities are based on the model proposed by the University of British Columbia across the different pharmacy professional years. Learning objectives for these initiatives were selected from the IPE shared competency domains and competency statements developed for Qatar context. A meeting with six faculty members, who have been instrumental to designing and executing the IPE activities in the previous 2 years, was convened. Faculty members reflected on IPE activities and collaborations with other participating programs. A structured SWOC (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Challenges) framework was used to guide discussion. The discussion was recorded and notes were taken during the meeting. Raised points were categorized into each SWOC category for the final analysis. Implementation of IPE program is a major undertaking with a number of challenges that require invested time to overcome. This article highlights the importance of incorporating IPE into healthcare curricula to graduate students ready for collaborative practice in the workforce. Learning objectives for IPE initiatives need to be based on shared competency domains. When developing and implementing an IPE program it is necessary to align activities under a strong theoretical framework. This should be done under the leadership of an IPE steering group or committee to oversee the integration of IPE into the healthcare curriculum. The article presents many lessons learned through IPE implementation that are relevant to other academic institutions keen to incorporate IPE into their programs and also provides a successful model for integrating IPE into healthcare curricula

Reducing health provider stereotypes through undergraduate interprofessional education

ObjectiveStereotypes among health professionals can jeopardize the delivery of collaborative healthcare and the achievement of positive patient outcomes. However, interprofessional education (IPE) can promote early clarification of roles, and understanding and mutual respect among trainees from different health disciplines. We studied the effects of IPE activities on the views and attitudes of pharmacy students toward nurse- and physician-trainees. MethodsPharmacy students completed a structured written reflection exercise immediately following two separate IPE activities with nursing and medical students, both oriented around diabetes care. We conducted an inductive content analysis of these texts to identify key themes according to the domains of the contact hypothesis theoretical framework: organizational authority, common goals, intergroup cooperation, equal group status and intergroup status. Pharmacy students were also asked how these IPE activities have influenced their views regarding their future pharmacy practice. ResultsPharmacy students felt that their groups had cooperated to solve the common patient care goals in each IPE activity, and noted no distinction between the nursing and medical students. However, through either explicit or implicit negotiation of overlapping roles, many pharmacy students ultimately assumed deferential positions relative to medical students. Overall, pharmacy students' attitudes and views regarding the abilities and roles of nursing and medical students in patient care were favorably altered through the IPE activities. Notably, nurses' drug knowledge and diagnostic abilities of nurses and physicians’ familiarity with the primary literature and prescribing regimens was previously under-rated but became recognized after IPE activities. ConclusionPharmacy students’ stereotypical views towards nursing and medical students were positively shifted when IPE activity conditions were optimized for intergroup contact.أهداف البحث يمكن للقوالب النمطية للمهنيين الصحيين أن تؤثر سلبا على تقديم الرعاية الصحية التعاونية والنتائج الإيجابية للمرضى. ومع ذلك، يمكن أن يكون التعليم البيني مفيدا في تعزيز التوضيح المبكر لأدوار العاملين الصحيين والتفاهم والاحترام المتبادل بين المتدربين من مختلف التخصصات الصحية. درسنا تأثير أنشطة التعليم البيني على آراء ومواقف طلاب الصيدلة تجاه الممرضين والأطباء المتدربين طرق البحث أكمل طلاب الصيدلة تمرينا منظما تأمليا بعد نشاطين منفصلين للتعليم البيني مع طلاب التمريض وطلاب الطب، وكلا النشاطين حول رعاية مرضى السكري. لقد أجرينا تحليلا استقرائيا للمحتوى الخواطر التأملات لتحديد الموضوعات الرئيسية وفقا لمجالات الإطار النظري لفرضية الاتصال السلطة التنظيمية والأهداف المشتركة والتعاون بين المجموعات، وحالة المجموعة المتساوية، والحالة بين المجموعات شنل طلاب الصيدلة أيضا عن كيفية تأثير أنشطة التعليم البيني على تصورهم لممارسة الصيدلة مستقبلا. النتائج شعر طلاب الصيدلة أن مجموعاتهم قد تعاونت لحل أهداف رعاية المرضى المشتركة في كل أنشطة التعليم البيني دون تمييز ملحوظ بين طلاب التمريض أو الطب. ومع ذلك، عن طريق التفاوض الصريح أو الضمني حول الأدوار المتداخلة، اتخذ الكثيرون في النهاية مواقف تفضيلية بالنسبة لطلاب الطب بشكل عام، تم تغيير مواقف طلاب الصيدلة ووجهات نظرهم تجاه قدرات وأدوار طلاب التمريض والطب في رعاية المرضى بشكل إيجابي من خلال أنشطة التعليم البيني على وجه الخصوص، اكتشف طلاب الصيدلة المعرفة الدوائية والقدرات التشخيصية للممرضات، وكذلك الإلمام بالأدبيات الأولية وأنظمة وصف الأدوية من قبل الأطباء. الاستنتاجات تم تغيير وجهات النظر النمطية لطلاب الصيدلة تجاه طلاب التمريض والطب بشكل إيجابي عندما تم تحسين ظروف نشاط التعليم البيني للتواصل بين المجموعات على نطاق أوسع، يعد البحث المستمر ضروريا لفهم الآثار طويلة المدى للتعرض المبكر لمجموعات الأقران من المهنيين الصحيين على الصور النمطية التي قد تظهر في الرعاية القائمة على الفريق في المستقبل

PubMed related articles: a probabilistic topic-based model for content similarity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We present a probabilistic topic-based model for content similarity called <it>pmra </it>that underlies the related article search feature in PubMed. Whether or not a document is about a particular topic is computed from term frequencies, modeled as Poisson distributions. Unlike previous probabilistic retrieval models, we do not attempt to estimate relevance–but rather our focus is "relatedness", the probability that a user would want to examine a particular document given known interest in another. We also describe a novel technique for estimating parameters that does not require human relevance judgments; instead, the process is based on the existence of MeSH ^®in MEDLINE ^®.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The <it>pmra </it>retrieval model was compared against <it>bm25</it>, a competitive probabilistic model that shares theoretical similarities. Experiments using the test collection from the TREC 2005 genomics track shows a small but statistically significant improvement of <it>pmra </it>over <it>bm25 </it>in terms of precision.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our experiments suggest that the <it>pmra </it>model provides an effective ranking algorithm for related article search.</p

Public attitudes towards community pharmacy in Arabic speaking Middle Eastern countries: A systematic review

BackgroundOver the last few years, pharmacy practice in the Arab regions of the Middle East has started to change and develop. There have been small but promising steps to recognize the importance of extending community pharmacists’ roles to meet the expanding public healthcare demands. ObjectivesThis systematic review aims to identify, synthesize and assess the quality of the literature in the Middle East concerning public attitudes on community pharmacist role and services and in relation to public perceptions on strategies to improve pharmacy services and the image of community pharmacist. MethodsA systematic search of 11 electronic databases was conducted to identify all published relevant studies from inception till January 2020. Data was extracted using a designed and tested tool. Studies were assessed for quality using Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool. ResultsThe final study results included 36 studies of which 31 adopted a cross-sectional-survey-based design. Included studies were published between 2004 and 2019. Most studies were done in Saudi Arabia (n = 11) or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (n = 10). We identified four overarching themes across included studies 1) Use of Community Pharmacies; 2) Attitudes towards Community Pharmacist role; 3) Attitudes towards Current Community Pharmacy Services and 4) Strategies to Improve Community Pharmacy Practice. The most common reason for visiting a community pharmacy was to purchase a prescription or over-the counter-medication. The most common factors that affected patients’ choice of a particular pharmacy included convenient pharmacy location, availability of a good range of products or medicines, friendliness of the pharmacy staff and convenient pharmacy opening hours. There was a general public perception of community pharmacist as a business oriented person. Expectations of pharmacist duties included treatment of minor health ailments, consultation on over-the-counter medications and parapharmaceutical products, and accuracy checking of dispensed medications. Overall satisfaction with community pharmacy varied between the studies and ranged from 33% to 67.1%. Most commonly reported recommendations to improve pharmacy practice were provision of diagnostic, screening and monitoring services, keeping patient records in the pharmacy, advice on minor illness and provision of a private area for consultation. Seven articles were considered of low quality and 13 articles were considered of high quality. ConclusionsWhile the public in the Middle East has a good understanding of the basic duties of a community pharmacist, there is lack of awareness of advanced pharmaceutical services. Decision makers in Middle Eastern countries should set strategies to improve community pharmacist professional image and competence beyond medication dispensing.This work was funded by Qatar University, Qatar Student Grant (QUST-1-CPH-2019-4)

Perspectives of healthcare professionals in Qatar on causes of medication errors : A mixed methods study of safety culture

This publication was made possible by NPRP grant NPRP 7-388-3-095 from Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Exploring facilitators and barriers to medication error reporting among healthcare professionals in Qatar using the theoretical domains framework : A mixed-methods approach

This work was supported by the Qatar National Research Fund, NPRP-7-388-3-095.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Diversity in health professional education scholarship: a document analysis of international author representation in leading journals

Objectives The global distribution of health professionals and associated training programmes is wide but prior study has demonstrated reported scholarship of teaching and learning arises from predominantly Western perspectives. Design We conducted a document analysis to examine authorship of recent publications to explore current international representation. Data sources The table of contents of seven high-impact English-language health professional education journals between 2008 and 2018 was extracted from Embase. Eligibility criteria The journals were selected according to highest aggregate ranking across specific scientific impact indices and stating health professional education in scope; only original research and review articles from these publications were included for analysis. Data extraction and synthesis The table of contents was extracted and eligible publications screened by independent reviewers who further characterised the geographic affiliations of the publishing research teams and study settings (if applicable). Results A total 12 018 titles were screened and 7793 (64.8%) articles included. Most were collaborations (7048, 90.4%) conducted by authors from single geographic regions (5851, 86%). Single-region teams were most often formed from countries in North America (56%), Northern Europe (14%) or Western Europe (10%). Overall lead authorship from Asian, African or South American regions was less than 15%, 5% and 1%, respectively. Geographic representation varied somewhat by journal, but not across time. Conclusions Diversity in health professional education scholarship, as marked by nation of authors’ professional affiliations, remains low. Under-representation of published research outside Global North regions limits dissemination of novel ideas resulting in unidirectional flow of experiences and a concentrated worldview of teaching and learning.Scopu

Views and experiences of decision-makers on organisational safety culture and medication errors

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of all interviewees, as well as support departments at Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. This work was supported by NPRP grant NPRP 7‐388‐3‐095 from Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Peer reviewedPublisher PD