Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting among the General Public in Lithuania: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Despite the fact that for over ten years, Lithuanian consumers have been able to report adverse drug reactions (ADR) directly to the competent authority, reporting rates remain low. A comprehensive understanding of consumer perceptions and experiences regarding ADRs is needed to ascertain further factors impacting their engagement in ADR reporting. This study aimed to assess consumer knowledge of, attitude toward, and practice of reporting ADRs. Methods: A questionnaire-guided cross-sectional survey among 404 consumers between October 2021 and June 2022 was conducted. The semi-structured questionnaire comprised open-ended and closed-ended questions to explore the sociodemographic characteristics and general knowledge of ADRs and pharmacovigilance. Other question items evaluated attitudes toward ADR reporting and ADR reporting practice. The data were summarised using descriptive statistics, while the chi-square test was used to assess categorical variables at p < 0.05. The overall percent score in the knowledge and attitude domains was divided into groups of "poor", "moderate", and "good" knowledge, as well as "positive" and "negative" attitudes. Results: While having a generally poor understanding, this study demonstrates that Lithuanian consumers have a favourable attitude toward pharmacovigilance, particularly regarding issues involving the requirement for reporting. The data also revealed the justifications for reporting and not reporting ADRs. Conclusions: The current study provided the first understanding of consumer awareness and ADR reporting intentions, which can help to develop educational campaigns and interventions addressing pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting.

Significance of organizational health features during the COVID-19 pandemic for the well-being of Lithuanian healthcare workers.

Summary: During various emergencies, especially pandemics, there is a heavy burden on healthcare workers and pharmacists. Organizational support plays a significant role in protecting their mental health. Though the study aimed analyze the subjectively perceived difficulties and challenges of healthcare workers related to organizing work in the context of a pandemic. Methods: Twenty seven subjects (20 women, 7 men) participated in the qualitative research 30-45 min. Duration semi-structured interviews were performed, and thematic data analysis was applied. Results: During the first wave of the COVD-19 pandemic, research participants experienced an avalanche of change in all significant areas of life: experienced general overall uncertainty, confusion in working order, and intense changes in work functions, responsibilities, and workload. These changes reduced the scope for control and predictability, there was a lack of structure and clarity. The avalanche of change caused by the COVID-19 pandemic provoked a strong and controversial emotional response. The contradiction was revealed between helplessness, disruption, loss of control experienced by staff and the internal and external pressure to adapt as quickly as possible to the functions of caregivers. The threats posed by the pandemic reinforced the need for active and engaged leadership and highlighted the key features of an employee supporting organization. Conclusion: Surviving the avalanche of change caused by the pandemic, healthcare workers and pharmacists emphasized the importance of management decisions about managing patient and employee health threats, clear work organization, active and inclusive leadership, change planning, and organizational concern for employee sustainability and emotional well-being. Regular, systematic, clear and understandable, timely, open and sincere, uncontroversial, and consistent communication of administration provides security for employees and can contribute to better physical and psychological well-being of employees.

Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in Lithuania.

In the setting of disasters, people seek information as they hope that knowledge will provide security. This makes the media a critical source of crisis exposure. The aim of the study described in this article was to analyze COVID-19 pandemic-related psychological aspects of media use by healthcare and pharmacy workers in Lithuania and to reveal the subjective effects of media consumption on their psychological well-being. 967 healthcare workers and pharmacists in Lithuania completed an electronic survey, which consisted of questions about the changes in well-being experienced since the beginning of the lockdown and media use in the search for information on COVID-19. It was found that communication might have ambiguous effects on psychological well-being. Excessive, unreliable, misleading, contradictory information and "catastrophizing" were subjectively related to impaired psychological well-being. Objective and reliable, relevant, clear, timely, hopeful and supportive information had a subjective positive effect. Seeking COVID-19-related information many times a day was associated with increased fear of becoming infected with COVID-19, feeling unable to control the risk of contracting COVID-19, fear of infecting relatives with COVID-19 and feeling that other people would avoid interaction with healthcare workers and pharmacists because of their job. General browsing was not consistently associated with COVID-19-related fears.

How Does the Assessment of Work Organization during the COVID-19 Pandemic Relate to Changes in the Well-Being of Health System Workers?

In the case of various emergencies, especially pandemics, healthcare workers are faced with disproportionate pressures. Organizational support plays a significant role in protecting the psychological and physical health of healthcare workers. This interdisciplinary research aims to determine how changes in the physical and psychological well-being of healthcare and pharmacy workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 lockdown are related to work organization factors that support safety and stability. A quantitative research strategy was applied in the research. Data from an electronic survey assessed the changes in the physical and psychological well-being of healthcare and pharmacy workers during the lockdown period and the organizational factors supporting safety and stability. The sample of the quantitative research consisted of 967 employees of healthcare institutions and pharmacies in Lithuania. This research broadens the concept of organizational factors and provides data on their interaction with the changes of employee well-being indicators in a pandemic situation. It was found that positive changes in the evaluation of physical as well as psychological well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown could be consistently predicted by all the analyzed safety and stability supporting organizational factors that were found to be associated with subjective physical well-being and psychological well-being even when adjusting for the effect of socio-demographic factors (gender, age, work field, and specialty). The identification and proper management of organizational factors was significant for the psychological and physical well-being of healthcare workers during the lockdown period. It was found that all estimates of safety and stability supporting organizational factors during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were positively related and could act as protective factors to the subjective physical and psychological well-being of healthcare and pharmacy workers.