University smoke-free policies in Australia: lessons for Indonesia

Background: Eliminating exposure to second-hand smoke is one of the best practices to control noncommunicable diseases. Indonesia has been dealing with growing burdens of noncommunicable disease due to the high and persistent prevalence of tobacco smoking in the country. On the other hand, Australia, a neighbouring country of Indonesia, shows an impressive progress in altering its national tobacco epidemic through the establishment of smoke-free policies. In recent years, Australia has extended its smoke-free policies to higher education institutions. Meanwhile, it is assumed that the scope and implementation of university smoke-free policies in Indonesia are still limited. Objectives: This paper aims to present evidence of Australian university smoke-free policies and to find gaps in the implementation of university smoke-free policies in Indonesia. Findings from an unpublished preliminary cross-sectional study on 100% smoke-free policies at The University of Queensland, Australia were synthesised with published literature on smoke-free policies at other Australian universities and higher education institutions. An online search was also conducted on Google Scholar and PubMed to find evidence of university smoke-free policies in Indonesia. Lessons Learnt: One study indicates that all universities in Australia have implemented smoke-free policies to various degrees. The aim of such policies is to promote wellness rather than to restrict smokers. Research is integral to the development and implementation of university smoke-free policies in Australia. Support from university staff and students, policy enforcement, provision of quit service on campus, awareness-raising, and avoiding stigmatisation of smokers are some important considerations in policy development and implementation. Meanwhile, the implementation of campus smoke-free policies in Indonesian universities is inadequate. The existing evidence is also lacking in quantity and quality. Collaborative efforts involving university stakeholders, researchers, staff, and students are prerequisite to successfully adopt smoke-free policies on university campuses in Indonesia

Dispensing Prescription Medicines without a Prescription in Pharmacy

A poor drug monitoring system in many developing countries makes patient easy to buy any prescription medicines without prescription. This research aimed to assess the compliance of pharmacy towards prescription medicine’s regulations, pharmacist knowledge toward a list of medicines as prescription or over the counter medicines, and the reasons associated with dispensing prescription medicines without a prescription in pharmacy. The research was a descriptive non-experimental study. The sample was taken using simple random sampling in Sleman and Kota Yogyakarta Regency from September 2016 to January 2017. Data were taken in 2 steps, using simulated patient and a questionnaire one week after the first step. The simulated patient would come to the pharmacy and requested amlodipine 5 mg 10 tablets and allopurinol 100 mg 20 tablets. The questionnaire assessed pharmacist knowledge in classifying of several medicines as prescription or over the counter medicines, information taken and given when dispensing prescription medicines without a prescription, and the reason associated with dispensing prescription medicines without a prescription. The data were analyzed descriptively. The results showed that from 138 pharmacies randomly selected, 132 pharmacies (95,7%) dispensed amlodipine and 127 pharmacies (92,0%) sold allopurinol without a prescription. Majority of pharmacists (more than 85%) hold a view that prescription medicines mainly for chronic diseases (glibenclamide, metformin, amlodipine, captopril, allopurinol, dan simvastatin) as the over the counter medicines, as the main reason was patients regularly taking this medication before. However, the majority of pharmacists (79,2%) perceived that antibiotics as prescription medicines that should be dispensed only with a medical prescription. This research showed that pharmacist does not fully implement applicable regulations

HUBUNGAN TINGKAT KETERGANTUNGAN ROKOK DENGAN HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE PADA MASYARAKAT KABUPATEN SLEMAN, KOTA YOGYAKARTA, DAN MAHASISWA UNIVERSITAS GADJAH MADA

Numerous studies showed that higher level of cigarette dependence was associated with lower quality of life. Such studies, however, haven�t been performed in Indonesia, a country with the second largest number of smokers in the world. Therefore, this study is conducted to analyze the association between cigarette dependence and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in sampled residents of Kabupaten Sleman and Kota Yogyakarta as well as in students of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Yogyakarta. Convenience sampling was performed to collect data. Level of cigarette dependence was measured with Fagerström Test for Cigarette Dependence (FTCD), while HRQoL was measured with Indonesian version of WHOQOL BREF. The association between level of cigarette dependence and HRQoL was assessed with one-way ANOVA. The result of this study showed a significant association between level of cigarette dependence and HRQoL, except in sampled residents of Yogyakarta (p>0,05). The statistically-significant association was found especially with HRQoL total score and with psychological domain of WHOQOL -BREF