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Background: Promotion of drugs by pharmaceutical industries is fully regulated by drug regulators. Doctors are focus of intense marketing by representatives of pharmaceutical companies (MR). It is reported that very few physicians are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to critically assess the information delivered in drug promotional literature (DPL). Hence this study was carried out with the objective to determine knowledge, attitude and practices of doctors about the DPL Methods: This was a questionnaire-based study population included clinicians working in a government set up and others doing private practice. Questionnaire was circulated online on social media platforms via Google forms. Results: The 32.11% participants were aware of regulations and guidelines of DPL in India 80.7% participants searched for cost of medicine on DPL, 54.12% respondents perceive that the product claims made on DPL are balanced and supported by good evidence, 56.88% participants opined that their integrity is compromised by accepting gift from MR, 43.1% participants are exposed to drug advertisement through social media and 51.06% of them opined that their prescribing habits are influenced through this. Writing brand names while prescribing is significantly more in private practitioners as compared to doctors employed in government set up. Conclusions: DPL serves to update the knowledge of the busy clinicians of the latest developments in the medical field. Quality check of drug promotion on social media is the need of the hour as this is influential. Private practitioners need to be addressed regarding enforced laws for rational prescribing.
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Background: WHO defines drug promotion literature (DPL) as “all informational and persuasive activities by manufacturers, the effect of which is to induce the prescription, supply, purchase and/or use of medicinal drugs”. Benefit driven marketing of new drugs by drug companies may lead to erroneous prescription due to insufficient understanding, knowledge of safety and therapeutic benefits of the drugs in the community. All these promotional activities influence the prescribing pattern of doctors. 2nd year of undergraduate medical course is the appropriate time to educate the medical undergraduate students about fundamentals of DPL and to train them accordingly for improving their prescribing behaviour eventually. Methods: A prospective questionnaire-based study was conducted in Goa Medical College. The study participants consisted of 150 II-year undergraduate medical students. Approval from Institutional Ethics Committee was obtained. The feedback forms were collected from the students after they were completed and data was analysed and represented as counts and percentages. Results: Among respondents 36% of students opined that the quality of details provided by medical representatives is biased and too commercial followed by others. 40.7% of students were of the view that the most important intervention needed to reduce the impact of drug promotion on prescribing was to formulate policies and guidelines for the health care authorities. Conclusions: Promotional activities by manufacturers influence the attitude and prescribing pattern of doctors. So, it is of utmost importance to train medical graduates in order to enable them to develop the skill of critical analysis of DPL and consequently rational prescribing.
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Background: Assessment is the most important factor which affect student’s learning behavior. It has been seen that the things which are not assessed have not been read by the students usually. Mainly two types of assessments are there: (1) Summative assessment, which is taken to assign grades to the students and (2) formative assessment, it is considered more important than summative assessment, because feedback to the learner is given after this. Moreover, it is the feedback which stimulates further improvement in learners. Now-a-days the students do not take assessments seriously because their unclear perception regarding the same. Hence, the present questionnaire-based study has been conducted on 2nd-year undergraduate students for obtaining their views regarding assessment and depending on their answers, they will be guided to utilize it in constructive way for their betterment. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the student’s perspectives toward assessment. Materials and Methods: This questionnaire-based and cross sectional study has been conducted on 100 2nd-year undergraduate students after taking informed consent from them. Questionnaire in Google forms has been sent to their emails after explaining the purpose of the study. Results obtained have been analyzed and presented in counts and percentages. The Institutional Ethics Committee approval has been taken before commencement of the study. Results: Students were aware about different assessments, but the purpose of the same was not clear to them. Around 63 (74.1%) students were in favor of frequent assessment, that is, they want assessment in every 1–3 months interval. The types of questions for examinations, most of them preferred multiple choice questions and short answer type of questions. Conclusion: The attitude of most of the students toward assessment system was found positive but they need guidance regarding proper use of it. There is immense need to put more effort to aware the students toward this.
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Background: Obesity is of huge concern worldwide. Bariatric surgery is effective in managing morbid obesity and its associated complications. Physiotherapy plays a crucial role in the pre-operative as well as postoperative phases of bariatric surgery. Lack of physical activity in patients who are obese, patients who are posted for bariatric surgery and those who have undergone bariatric surgery can be accounted to a lot of factors. Identifying their perceived level of physical activity along with the facilitators, barriers and beliefs will help in addressing these issues and thereby increasing adherence to physical activity.Objective: To evaluateperceived level, along with barriers, enablers and beliefs of physical activity in patients posted for bariatric surgery. We also evaluated their awareness about the role of physiotherapy in pre and post-operative phases of bariatric surgery.Method:A questionnaire was designed to gain an insight aboutfactors contributing as barriers and enablers, under the domains of physical, psychological, interpersonal and environmental. It also included perceived level and the existing level of physical activity in the study participants.Questions were also designed to understand their awareness about the role of physiotherapy in the pre and post bariatric surgery phase. It was administered to patients posted for bariatric surgery on an interview basis. Sample size was calculated to be 96. The data was then analysed and represented as descriptive statistics.Results: All study participants failed to meet the recommended level of physical activity. The predominant barriers perceived by the study participants belonged to physical, psychological and interpersonal domains; whereas environmental barriers were found to be of least significance. 72.92% of the study participants lacked the knowledge about the role of physiotherapy in the pre-operative phase of bariatric surgery.Conclusions:Interpersonal, physical and psychological being the predominant barriers faced by the study participants highlight the scope of physiotherapeutic intervention. Also these factors can be modified at an individual level, thereby improving the adherence. There is lack of awareness about the role of physiotherapy in the pre-operative phase of bariatric surgery. Thus there is need to increase awareness about the role of physiotherapy in managing obesity and related complications in pre and post-op phases of bariatric surgery.
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Local anaesthesia being the most commonly administered drug in dentistry has its prolonged action for up to 3 - 5 hours due to the addition of vasoconstrictors. The extended periods of soft tissue anaesthesia due to the addition of these vasoconstrictors can cause other problems while speaking, drinking, and eating during which there is a higher risk of experiencing self-inflicted injuries to the tongue and lips. Phentolamine mesylate is a drug which helps in the reversal of action of local anaesthesia. Hence, the objective of this study was to provide a basic knowledge about this drug to the patient and assess the interest of the patient in taking the drug when given a choice. METHODSA questionnaire-based survey was conducted among 200 patients who required the administration of inferior alveolar nerve block for their dental treatment. This questionnaire contained basic information about Phentolamine Mesylate drug along with six questions where the patient was asked as to whether or not he / she was willing to take this drug for reversal of the effect of local anaesthesia and specific reason for its usage. RESULTSAmong 200 patients, 122 patients wanted to reverse the effect of local anaesthesia by the use of the phentolamine mesylate drug. Amongst these patients, 93 wanted to take the drug orally initially and upon informing that the injection will be given in the previously anaesthetized area, 91 patients preferred to take an injection of the drug. CONCLUSIONSMajority of patients surveyed in this study wanted to reverse the effect of local anaesthesia by taking phentolamine mesylate drug. However, there is a need to increase the awareness of the type of drug used and the importance of administration of the same.
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Background: Promotion of drugs has been increased enormously with the advancement of technology and use of internet and media etc. Pharmaceutical manufacturers spend vast amount of money on promotion usually through medical representatives by providing printed advertisements. But, it has been seen that these printed advertisements are not up to the mark usually, they either overemphasize the efficacy or hide the safety profile for the sake of company抯 profit. All these promotional activities influence the prescribing pattern of doctors. So, the present study has been conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of second year undergraduate students about promotional literature and to train them accordingly for improving the prescribing behaviour.Methods: A questionnaire based study containing 9 questions was conducted in 110 second year undergraduate students after taking informed consent. Statistical analysis was done by using descriptive statistics by graph pad prism version 6.01.Results: Among respondents 60 (61.2%) were males and rest 38 (38.8%) were females. 50 (51%) of the respondents have chosen Indian pharmacopoeia as a trusted source of information followed by others. Most common factor affecting the prescribing attitude was reported as updates from clinical trials 49 (50%) followed by prescriber抯 knowledge. Most important intervention taken to stop misleading drug promotional activities has been reported as formulation of strict regulation by the health care authorities against any misleading promotion.Conclusions: Promotional activities by manufacturers influence the attitude and prescribing pattern of doctors. So, it is important to teach the students about their rational use by critically analysing it.
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Background: Self medication is becoming very popular among medical students as they get exposed to knowledge about diseases and drugs, but which is very superficial in second year undergraduates, so the present study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of self medication among second year undergraduate students.Methods: A questionnaire based study containing 12 questions was conducted in 175 second year undergraduate students after taking informed consent. Statistical analysis was done by using descriptive statistics by Graph Pad Prism version 6.01.Results: Out of the 175 students, 155 (88.57%) students have taken self medication. The common reason for taking it was no need to visit the doctor for minor illness (64%), quick relief (48.57%) and time saving (34.29%). The common indications for taking self medication were fever (69.14%) and cough and cold (69.14%) followed by headache (64%). Although students rarely practised it due to risk associated like adverse effects 131 (74.86%) and lack of proper knowledge about drugs 118 (67.3%).Conclusions: Self medication is highly prevalent among students, as most of the students get it from pharmacies, it is necessary to make strict guidelines for availability of such medicines over the counter and also there is need to educate the students about harmful consequences of self medication to make them responsible future doctors.
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Background: In order to successfully run a curriculum in a medical college, it is a mandatory to collect regular feedback from the students regarding teaching and learning methodologies. The primary objective of our study was to analyse the various teaching-learning aids and course content of pharmacology. The secondary objective was evaluation of pharmacology practical classes and their relevance in relation to the interests of students as well as clinical application. Methods: This is a cross sectional, open labelled questionnaire based study conducted among 100 2nd year MBBS students of a tertiary care teaching hospital. The questionnaire consisted of 10 questions with 4 response options each. Descriptive statistics was used for analysis and interpretation and the results were expressed as percentage frequency of responses. Results: It was revealed from our study that a majority of the students (45%) found microbiology undergraduate practical laboratory more interesting with pharmacology at 35%, which reflects that 65% students think that pharmacology laboratory exercises are boring and less useful. From among the pharmacology practical laboratories (clinical laboratory, experimental pharmacology and pharmacy), majority (47%) of the students opted for clinical prescription and problem based learning exercises as most beneficial. A whopping 55/100 students wanted introduction of clinical case studies as part of the regular practical teaching schedule while 30 students felt that doctor-patient role play should be included in teaching curriculum for better understanding of subject. Surprisingly, 42% of students find audio visual aids as most useful teaching methodologies while 33% students like bilateral (student- teacher) interactive classes. On the contrary, 72% of the students prefer studying pharmacology from combination of both lecture notes, textbooks and their self-prepared notes. 50/100 students wanted inclusion of more case studies and treatment protocols as a part of regular teaching protocol in pharmacology and 30 students wanted more group discussions to be included as a part of teaching curriculum in pharmacology. Conclusion: Pharmacology is a dynamic and continuously evolving branch of medicine. The results of our study are hoped to help in knowing students’ perspective regarding pharmacology teaching and modifying pharmacology teaching patterns for better outcomes.
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BACKGROUND: Research into the Baumann skin type (BST) has recently expanded, with growing interest in the development of an efficient and effective skin type classification system for better understanding of this skin condition. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify male-specific skin type characteristics with investigation into the distribution of BST by age and region in the Korean male population and to determine the intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to skin type. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to collect information about age, region, working behavior, drinking behavior, smoking behavior, usual habit of sun protection, medical history, and the BST which consisted of four parameters; oily (O) or dry (D), sensitive (S) or resistant (R), pigmented (P) or non-pigmented (N), and wrinkled (W) or tight (T). RESULTS: We surveyed 1,000 Korean males aged between 20 and 60 years who were divided equally by age and region. Of the total respondents, OSNW type accounted for the largest percentage and ORPW type the lowest. In terms of Baumann parameters, O type was 53.5%, S type was 56.1%, N type was 84.4% and W type was 57.5%. Several behavioral factors were found to have various relationships with the skin type. CONCLUSION: The predominant skin type in the Korean male respondents was OSNW type, and the distribution of skin types with regards to age and region was reported to be distinct. Therefore, skin care should be customized based on detailed skin types considering the various environmental factors.
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Humanos , Masculino , Clasificación , Conducta de Ingestión de Líquido , Cuidados de la Piel , Piel , Humo , Fumar , Sistema Solar , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND:Road traffic accident is a preventable global disaster. In developing countries, the existing road safety policies are ineffective in preventing casualties, mainly because of lack of knowledge regarding the same in the general population. The early assessment of awareness of driving safety measures in general population will thus go a long way to help in reducing existing high fatalities. MATERIALAND METHODS: Aclose ended questionnaire based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 participants of age 16 years and above with a valid driving license to assess the awareness regarding driving safety measures. The data was collected and analyzed for number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t test and Chi-square test. RESULTS: 80.8% of the urban population and 60.5% of the rural population were aware of the legal age for driving vehicles. Majority of the participants were aware regarding wearing helmets while driving. Use of seatbelt and prohibition of alcohol intake while driving was comparatively less in rural population. Awareness of prohibition of use of mobile phone while driving and sign of speed limit was observed in 2/3rd of the population. Less than half of the rural population was unaware of the basic traffic signs like stop, no parking, no horn, school ahead, and one way. CONCLUSION:Awareness regarding driving safety measures in general population was comparatively less among rural population than urban. Traffic awareness campaigns in hospitals in association with Regional Transport Office would be one of the beneficial measures to minimize fatalities arising due to lack of knowledge of safe driving measures.
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Purpose: Over 20% of the world's visually impaired and blind populations live in India. Integration of primary eye care (PEC) into existing primary health care by trained personnel could address access-related barriers. We piloted an unreported, modified WHO disability questionnaire-based model for community health workers (CHWs) to screen and refer persons with perceived visual impairment instead of the traditional visual acuity model. The objective of the study was (1) to determine the prevalence of perceived visual impairment, rate of follow-up postreferral, distribution of ocular morbidity, visual impairment, and proportion of appropriate referrals and (2) to compare results of this intervention with those of existing services. Methods: CHWs were trained in administering a questionnaire for identification and referral of persons with perceived visual impairment in 7 rural villages and 22 tribal hamlets from the institutional database. In this cross-sectional study, patients screened and referred to PEC services from September 2014 to March 2015 underwent comprehensive ocular examination by an optometrist and ophthalmologist. Data collected from their records were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Of 18,534 individuals screened, 3082 (16.64%, 95% confidence interval: 16.06–17.14) complained of perceived visual impairment and were referred; 463 (15%) of these followed up for examination. Correct referrals were noted in 452 (97.6%) cases. Cataract (52.3%) and refractive error (15.8%) were the most common morbidities. There was a 39.6% increase in uptake of eye care services from baseline. Conclusion: The questionnaire-based screening tool administered by CHWs can lead to appropriate identification and referral of persons with ocular morbidity impacting uptake of eye care services
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A population-based door-to-door study of cross-sectional methods for assessing the prevalence and factors related to a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was conducted using the Korean version of the Berlin Questionnaire (K-BQ). METHODS: Pooled data collected from Community Health Surveys by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention were analyzed. Of 8,140 respondents from the population, 7,955 were finally included in this study. RESULTS: Of the 7,955 included subjects, 15.7% of the men and 9.8% of the women were at high risk of OSA. Significant differences were found in the following factors between the subjects with a high risk of OSA: gender, age, marital status, educational level, occupation, and presence of smoking, harmful alcohol use, and chronic diseases. Male sex, harmful alcohol use, and the presence of chronic diseases were identified as factors independently associated with a high risk of OSA. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to confirm the usefulness of the K-BQ to study the prevalence of OSA in the Korean general population. The findings demonstrate that harmful alcohol use and chronic diseases are very common characteristics among those with a high risk of OSA.
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Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Berlin , Enfermedad Crónica , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Epidemiología , Encuestas Epidemiológicas , Corea (Geográfico) , Estado Civil , Métodos , Ocupaciones , Prevalencia , Apnea Obstructiva del Sueño , Humo , Fumar , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
Based on the questionnaire-based survey done on 115 master graduates in Kunming Medical College concerning medical immunology course,this paper analyzes existing problems and proposes suggestions for improving classroom teaching.