Financial and Economic Criteria for Evaluating the Performance of Pharmacies

Improving the economic performance of pharmacies need to economic and financial indicators. Despite this necessity, economic and financial performance indicators have not been identified comprehensively in the pharmacy setting. Thus the aim of this study is to determine the economic and financial performance assessment criteria of the pharmacies by specialist’s point of view. This study is a qualitative study in which experts and professional’s point of view were gathered by focus group discussion. 15 health system experts were selected by purposive sampling approach. Data from focus group discussions (FGD) were analyzed by thematic analysis method. Twelve main themes in two scopes were obtained to assess the economic and financial performance of the pharmacy by review of specialists view. These themes are waste rate, profitability, cost control, financial management, economic and political issues, pharmacist, doctor, medical insurance, management system, pharmaceutical companies, cultural issues and public or private administration system of pharmacy.Based on the results of this study, the most important criteria to evaluate the financial and economic performance of pharmacies were identified. These results can be used for to economic and financial performance evaluation of pharmacies

Evaluating the relationship between adult attention - deficit/hyperactivity disorder and riding behavior of motorcyclists

Background: Motorcycling is one of the main causes of injury, and motorcyclists are vulnerable to road traffic injuries. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults is presumably one of the determinants of road traffic injuries and motorcyclists’ risky behavior. Despite the few studies on the relationship between motorcycle injuries and adult ADHD, their association has not been investigated using standardized instruments. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between motorcyclists’ adult ADHD and risky riding behaviors. Methods: This community-based, cross-sectional study was performed on 340 motorcyclists in Bukan city, west Azerbaijan province, Iran in 2015 and 2016 using a cluster-random sampling in seven areas of the city. According to the city map used by Bukan’s Health Centers, the city was divided into 14 clusters. Then, seven clusters (out of 14) were selected randomly. To reach the anticipated sample size, the data were collected from these seven clusters. In this study, the data collection instruments were: standard Motorcycle Rider Behavior Questionnaire (MRBQ), Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales (CAARS) questionnaire and a checklist designed by the researchers. The Stata 13 software package was used to analyze the collected data. Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression were performed to study the linear relationship between ADHD screening and MRBQ scores. Results: All 340 participants were male and the mean age was 30.2 years (SD=9.1). In addition, 22.1% of motor cyclists had a history of motorcycle crash. Bivariate analysis showed a significant association between risky riding behaviors and age, motorcycling records, and mean of riding hours per day (P-valueless than 0.05). Multivariate analysis confirmed the correlation between ADHD and risky riding behaviors in all subscales (A, B, D) (pless than 0.05). Conclusions: Those with a high ADHD screening score are more likely to have risky riding behaviors

The Pattern of Motorcyclists' Death Due to Accidents and a Three-year Forecast in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran

Introduction: In low- and middle-income countries, a large proportion of road users include pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, and nearly half of road traffic fatalities occur among motorcyclists. This study aimed to examine the pattern of motorcyclists' death due to accidents in East Azerbaijan, Iran between 2006 and 2021 and present a forecast. Methods: We used death data due to motorcycle accidents of Legal Medicine Department between 2006 and 2021. For time series analysis, the Box-Jenkins model was used and three stages of identification, estimation, and diagnosis were successively performed and repeated several times to achieve the best prediction model. The Box-cox transformation method was used to stabilize the variance, and the first-order seasonal differential method with a period of 12 was used to control the seasonality. Due to seasonal variations, the Seasonality Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average model: SARIMA (p, d, q) (P, D, Q)s was employed and the death trend was predicted for 36 months. The candidate models were compared based on Log-likelihood, AIC, and BIC indices. STATA 17 was used for data analysis. Results: About 18.6% of all accident deaths are attributed to motorcycle accidents. The death rate for all causes of accidents and motorcycle accidents were 23.13 and 4.30 per 100,000 population, respectively. Seven models were considered as candidates. The SARIMA (0, 0, 0) (1, 1, 1)12 model was selected as the best model due to better fit and used to predict the number and trend of motorcycle accident deaths. Motorcycle accident deaths are predicted to decrease gradually in the next 36 months, from June 2021 to May 2024, affected by seasonal changes. Conclusion: The trend of death due to motorcycle accidents from 2006 to 2021 in East Azerbaijan was declining, and it is predicted to decrease slightly in the next three years as well. As this reduction may be attributed to many factors, it is recommended to investigate effective factors in future studies

Unilateral leg resistance training improves time to task failure of the contralateral untrained leg

Background: Cross-training is the process whereby training of one limb gives rise to enhancements in the performance of the opposite, untrained limb, most likely due to neural adaptations at the level of the motor cortex and/or spinal cord. Objective: To investigate whether unilateral resistance training can affect the ability of untrained homologous muscle in the contralateral limb to maintain force output over a sustained contraction. Methods: Fifteen healthy subjects completed 12 weeks of resistance training consisting of 36 sessions, using the unilateral leg press exercise. Sustained isometric knee extension performed at 50% of maximal force until task failure on both the ipsilateral trained leg and contralateral untrained leg. Surface electromyography (EMG) signals were recorded from the trained and contralateral untrained quadriceps (vastus medialis, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis). Results: Time to task failure of the contralateral untrained leg was significantly increased after 12 weeks of unilateral resistance training (p < .05). Moreover, the EMG amplitude of the contralateral untrained quadriceps was significantly higher during the post training sustained contractions with respect to pre training condition (p < .05). Conclusions: Unilateral resistance training of the quadriceps can increase the ability of homologous muscle in the contralateral limb to maintain force output

STUDYING INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS IN PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR IN SELECTED DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

 Objectives: Competitiveness is the ability of countries in increasing market share, profits, value added, and staying at the scene of fair and international competition for a long period of time. This is realized through market authority and establishing activities based on comparative and competitive advantages. On the other hand, the research-based pharmaceutical industry makes a major contribution to the prosperity of the world economy. It is a robust sector that has been one of the pillars of industrialized economies and is increasingly recognized as an important sector in the developing world as well. Furthermore, global sales of pharmaceutical products represent the international spread of medical technology that comes as the result of highly intensive R and D efforts in the exporting countries (International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, 2012). The present study aimed to analyze and investigate the international competitiveness of pharmaceutical sector in selected developed countries using traditional and new indices of competitiveness.Methods: In this study, revealed comparative advantage index and also static and dynamic intra-industry trade (IIT) indices were used in the period 2000–2012.Results: The results indicated the growing competitiveness in most of the selected countries. Furthermore, the findings suggested that countries with higher levels of international trading of pharmaceutical goods have a higher potential of competitiveness based on IIT and comparative advantage indices.Conclusions: For increase in international competitiveness in pharmaceutical industry, selected developed countries pay attention to both comparative and competitive advantages

Evaluation of cost-effectiveness of single-credit traffic safety course based on Kirkpatrick model: a case study of Iran

Abstract Background Training plays a role in reducing traffic accidents, and evaluating the effectiveness of training programs in managers’ decision-making for training continuation is important. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a single-credit traffic safety course based on the four levels of the Kirkpatrick model in all Iranian universities. Methods This interventional study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a single-credit traffic safety course based on the Kirkpatrick model from 2016 to 2020 in Iran. The data were collected in three stages: (1) calculating the costs of offering traffic safety courses, (2) determining the effectiveness of providing such courses based on the levels of the Kirkpatrick model, and (3) evaluating the cost-effectiveness of administering traffic safety courses. Data were collected through researcher-made and standardized questionnaires. The research population included traffic safety course instructors and university students who could take this course. Finally, the data were analyzed with SPSS v. 23 and also calculations related to ICER, which shows the cost effectiveness of providing single credit course. Results Scores of the students’ reaction level to the traffic safety course was 41.8% before the course; this score was estimated at 67% after the course. At the level of learning, students’ knowledge was 43.6% before the training course, which reached 73% after the course. At the level of behavior, the state of students’ desirable traffic behaviors was 54% before the course, which reached 66.1% after the course. The educational effectiveness of the course presentation at the level of results was 58.2% before and 74.8% after the course. While assuming that the weights of all model levels were constant, the cost of a 1% increase in the overall educational effectiveness by using the Kirkpatrick model, compared to not providing the course (not administering the intervention) was 486.46 USD. Conclusion The results showcased the effectiveness of the traffic safety course in all four levels of The Kirkpatrick model. Therefore, policy-makers and officials in charge of delivering this program should strengthen it and resolve its deficiencies to realize all its educational goals at the highest level