Evaluation of the Factors Associated with Prescribed and Non-Prescribed Medicine:A Population-Based Study

OBJECTIVES: Several factors influence medication patterns. The purpose of this study was to look into the role of social determinants in the use of prescribed and non-prescribed medications in a population-based setting of people over 18 in a southern metropolis of Iran (Shiraz) for 2 years.STUDY DESIGN: Prospective population-based cross-sectional.METHODS: This descriptive and cross-sectional survey was done in 2018-2020. A total of 1016 participants were randomly selected based on their postal codes and recruited to the study. The demographic characteristics (age, sex, and education), social profiles (insurance, supplementary insurance, health status, and daily exercise plan), and outpatient visits (family/general physician or specialist/ subspecialist) were recorded by gathering sheets. Descriptive analyses and multinomial logistic analyses were carried out using SPSS software.RESULTS: The medication use pattern was classified into three categories: non-prescribed type I, non-prescribed type II, and prescribed. The mean age of participants was 45.54 ± 15.82 years. The results indicated that most of them took their medication without a prescription (non-prescribed type II). However, people who had insurance and referred to a family physician commonly used the prescribed medications. This study also found that patients who visited a family doctor or a general practitioner used fewer prescribed drugs than those who visited a specialist.CONCLUSION: This study describes social determinants as additional effective factors in health services that influence the use of prescribed and non-prescribed medications in Shiraz. These evidence- based findings can help policymakers to plan the best programs.</p

Comparison between Management and Pharmacotherapy of COVID-19 in Iran and Switzerland: Management and Pharmacotherapy of COVID-19 in Iran and Switzerland

Background: On 30 January 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 as a public healthemergency. In the present study, we compared the preventative and therapeutic strategies and the success rates of Iran and Switzerland during the COVID-19 outbreak.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, andWeb of Science. In addition, the official documents of developed countries and WHO from 1st February until 15th May 2020 were studied. Relevant documents were reviewed in detail, and vital data were extracted.Results: Both countries have restriction policies to reduce the infection rate in the prevention setting. Thesepolicies, such as the recommendation to all citizens to stay home unless necessary, army participation, andnon-face-to-face counseling, were surveyed by similar techniques in both countries. Some policies wereimplemented in both countries with different protocols. These policies, including social distancing practices,smart distancing methods, business activities, border closures, border controls, and restrictions, travelrestrictions, testing and screening for infection and fever, and decreased working hours, were performed inboth countries. In the treatment setting, the therapeutic strategy used in Iran consisted of hydroxychloroquineor chloroquine phosphate and anti-viral drugs. Switzerland followed the guidelines of the European countries.The infection rate, recovery rate, and death rate were 0.139%, 78.73%, and 5.91% in Iran, while these rateswere 0.352%, 88.81%, and 6.15% in Switzerland, respectively.Conclusion: Due to the lack of special treatment for the disease, prevention must be considered the mostimportant factor in policymaking. Importantly, observing social distance is the most effective method amongthe preventative strategies. The capacity of the health care systems to provide optimal services and facilities isan important factor for patients recovery