Management of Cardiovascular Medicines Used at the Regional Diagnostic and Treatment Center of the Western Region of Mongolia

As cardiovascular diseases are the major global health problem, the management of cardiovascular medicines (CVMs) should not be out of attention. We aimed to identify CVMs needing strict management control, used in 2017 and 2018 to investigate if there was a possibility to make savings in the expenditure for CVMs if the proper management was done regarding Class A medicines at the Regional Diagnostic Treatment Center of Khovd aimag in 2018. Aggregate data methods, Always, Better and Control (ABC), Vital, Essential and Non-essential (VEN), and ABC-VEN matrix analyses were used to identify the categories of CVMs, included in the Essential Medicine List of Mongolia for the year 2017 and 2018. Class A medicines represented 23.81% and 30.43% of the total CVMs and consumed the largest proportion of the total budgets at 73% and 71% in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The Category I, which requires strict management control, contains the majority (an average of 59%) of total CVMs and amounting for an average of 78.67% of total expenditures in 2017 and 2018. We conclude that the Regional Diagnostic and Treatment Center could have saved a total of 6,646,500 MNT if the proper management regarding Class A medicines was done in 2018 based on the results of ABC, VEN, and ABC-VEN matrix analyses of 2017

Intolerance of uncertainty across stress, anxiety, and depression among university students in Pakistan: A descriptive cross-sectional study

Background: The mental health issues due to COVID-19, such as intolerance of uncertainty (IOU), anxiety, stress, and depression, have attracted extensive attention from researchers. The challenges for Pakistani university students could be worse than developed countries due to the lack of online courses/programs and online mental health support provided by academic institutions. Therefore, the current study aims to assess the intolerance of uncertainty, depression, anxiety, and stress of Pakistani university students after the second wave of COVID-19 and the relationship among these constructs. Methods: A convenience cross-sectional sampling method was used to collect data from university students in Pakistan between January 2021 and April 2022 via a structured online questionnaire. The Descriptive analysis focused on frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation (SD) were calculated on IOU-12 and DASS-21. Covariance for the research model and confirmatory factor analyses fit indices for the IOU-12 and DASS-21 were analyzed by AMOS statistical packages. Results: As expected, anxiety, depression, and stress persist among Pakistani university students. On average, they report mild to moderate mental health problems regarding anxiety, depression, stress, and intolerance of uncertainty. Our results indicate a strong positive relationship among the three emotional distress components - anxiety, depression, and stress. However, our results suggest no significant relationship between IOU and the three subcomponents of emotional distress (anxiety, depression, and stress). Limitations: First, the cross-sectional survey design means we cannot conclude on the causal relations. Second, the self-report questionnaire embeds subjectivity issues. Last, the generalizability of the sample to the whole student population in Pakistan is limited, considering the sampling method. Conclusion: This study expanded the current knowledge in the psychological health domain (intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety, depression, and stress) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In practice, higher education institutions should further mitigate university students' mental health issues. For researchers, our findings inspire future studies to delve into the relationship between IOU and mental health issues due to COVID-19 since our findings display contrary evidence for various reasons

Public Awareness and Practices Towards Self-Medication with Antibiotics Among Malaysian Population: Questionnaire Development and Pilot Testing

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