ABSTRACT
Background: Health professions have been a predictive factor for self-medication (SM). SM practices of medical students, the future practitioners will have a bearing on their impending professional practice. The aims were to identify prevalence and practice of SM among the medical students of Gulf Medical University (GMU), United Arab Emirates and to assess the associating factors. Methods: The study was planned as a cross-sectional descriptive survey among 247 medical students of GMU. Students from 1st to 5th year were included in the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19. Associations were tested with Chi-square test. Results: SM with both over-the-counter medications and prescription-only medicines was practiced by 65% of students. The prevalence of SM was associated with the year of study and age. The most common sources of drugs were private pharmacies and stocks at home. The students mostly relied on themselves and parents for drug selection. The self-reliance significantly increased with year of study. Common indications for SM were headache and flu symptoms and correspondingly, analgesics and antipyretics were frequently used. A high prevalence of misuse of antibiotics was also reported. SM was 2.9 times higher (95% CI=1.502-5.620) among students belonging to families practicing SM. Conclusion: The study revealed a fairly high rate of prevalence of SM among the medical students of GMU, which was associated with age and year of study. There is a need to emphasize responsible SM practices among the medical students by accentuating rational drug use in the curricula.
ABSTRACT
Spontaneous reporting of ADRs enhances detection of serious, unexpected and unusual ADRs. Healthcare professionals play an integral role in the success of safety surveillance of drugs. This study aimed to investigate knowledge, practice and factors affecting ADR reporting among clinicians. Cross sectional study was carried out among clinicians of a tertiary care centre irrespective of their gender, specialization and experience. A validated selfadministered questionnaire was distributed among clinicians to assess the knowledge, practice and factors influencing ADR reporting. The 42 clinicians participated in the study comprised more than 50% males, had a mean age 36+8 years and represented a multi-ethnic population of varying clinical experience. With regard to ADR reporting, majority of the clinicians correctly identified which of the ADRs had to be reported and the individuals who can report ADRs. Very few clinicians had reported ADRs to the Pharmacovigilance Centre. The common factor discouraging reporting of ADR was not knowing how to report ADRs (71%). A majority of the clinicians were willing to undergo training on this aspect. The study revealed under-reporting of ADRs, and the willingness of clinicians to be trained in ADR reporting thus contributing to Pharmacovigilance program.
ABSTRACT
The specter of polypharmacy is an ever-increasing problem. Nurses play a functional role in assisting patients to understand the dangers of polypharmacy. Nurse’s knowledge and their experience of polypharmacy in their nursing practice are determined in the study. Nurses working in Gulf Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Ajman, United Arab Emirates participated in this cross-sectional study (March-May 2011). A Self-administered structured questionnaire was used to obtain data. Chi-square test was performed to find the association between variables under study using PSAW software. A total of 105 nurses participated (92 female nurses; 13 male nurses). The definition of polypharmacy was correctly identified by only 45.7% nurses. 66% identified elderly population as the common age group exposed to polypharmacy; while 22.9% nurses opined that it is common in all age groups. 66.7% of the nurses acknowledge their non awareness of rational and irrational polypharmacy. The common reason for practice of polypharmacy was use of multiple drugs to manage multiple disease conditions. The knowledge of polypharmacy is inadequate among the nurses though they have experience of polypharmacy. Working knowledge of rational polypharmacy is essential among the nursing community to reduce the practice of polypharmacy.
ABSTRACT
Nurses play a functional role in preventing drug related problems. They need to be aware of the dangers of polypharmacy while reviewing patient medications. We studied the nurses' opinion on the diverse effects of polypharmacy in the hospital setting. Nurses working in a tertiary care teaching hospital participated in this cross-sectional study, conducted over 3 months, by responding to a self-administered questionnaire. Chi-square test was used to analyze association between socio-demographic characteristics and items in the study. A value of P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Increased drug interactions scored the highest [98.1%], followed by increased adverse drug effects [81.9%], and increase in financial burden [69.5%] among the negative effects of polypharmacy. 61% of the respondents felt that polypharmacy increased therapeutic effect in polypathology. No difference was observed in the opinion between male and female nurses or among varying nursing experience. Nurses with 5-10 years of experience opined increase in non-compliance to prescribed medication regimen and increase in financial burden also as negative attributes. Nurses pointed out both positive and negative implications of polypharmacy. Training programs such as continuing nursing education and workshops can be planned to translate this knowledge into practice in their routine nursing practice.