ABSTRACT
The development of new drugs for the pharmacological treatment of diseases is a costly and time-consuming process. The pharmaceutical industry has traditionally played the main role in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of new drugs. However, in recent years, the role of academia in the process of drug discovery and development, and its eventual translation into clinical applications has steadily increased. At the occasion of their 95th anniversary, the School of Pharmacy at the University of Puerto Rico organized a symposium titled "Drug Discovery, Development and Clinical Research in Academia". This article presents a summary of the symposium presentations and the potential role of academic drug discovery and development as a complement to the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Puerto Rico.
Subject(s)
Biomedical Research , Drug Industry , Congresses as TopicABSTRACT
Recent evidence indicates that HIV disproportionately affects ethnic minorities, youth, and women. The present study sought to further understand how sociodemographic and clinical factors impact the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) from the continental United States and Puerto Rico. Two hundred seventy-three participants (87% men, 13% women; 59% Hispanic, 25% black non-Hispanic, 16% white non-Hispanic) completed Spanish or English versions of the Functional Assessment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection (FAHI), an illness-specific measure of HRQL. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed using age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, insurance type, language preference, living arrangement, literacy level, antiretroviral status, CD4+ T cell count, and time since diagnosis as independent variables. Four subscales from the FAHI, physical, emotional, social, and functional/general well-being, were analyzed as dependent variables. Men and Spanish speaking participants reported better physical well-being (p < 0.001). Men also reported better functional well-being (p < 0.05). Participants with a lower CD4+ T cell count, Spanish speakers, and White participants reported better emotional well-being (p < 0.001). Participants who lived with others, had a lower CD4+ T cell count, or were white reported better social well-being (p < 0.001). These results suggest that sociodemographic and clinical factors influence quality of life in PLWHA. Women appear to be particularly vulnerable to adverse quality of life impacts in the physical domains, and ethnic minorities appear vulnerable to adverse impacts in the psychosocial domains.
Subject(s)
Health Status , Hispanic or Latino , Quality of Life , Adult , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Hispanic or Latino/psychology , Humans , Male , Multilingualism , Puerto Rico , Regression Analysis , Surveys and Questionnaires , United StatesABSTRACT
Evaluate the educational needs of adults over 65 years or more with regards to the vaccine, vaccination and immunization against the influenza, design strategies to assist the educational needs and implant and evaluate an immunization program at an independent community pharmacy. A study divided into three phases: Phase I--evaluation of the educational needs related to the vaccine, vaccination and immunization. Phase II--designing of strategies to assist the needs. Phase III--a random longitudinal controlled study to evaluate an immunization program against the influenza implanted at an independent community pharmacy. One hundred (100) patients participated, randomly assigned to a controlled and experimental group. Three months into the study's Phase III, a 68% of the experimental group had been vaccinated and showed a tendency to improvement in knowledge; in the controlled group, a 32% had been vaccinated and did not show a tendency in improvement of knowledge. A year into the study's Phase III, a 76% of the experimental group had been vaccinated and 24% of the controlled group was vaccinated. The satisfaction average of the experimental group towards the pharmacist was 3.94 +/- 0.18 and, in the controlled group was 3.98 +/- 0.20, whiting a scale of 0-04. People who participated in an educational activity offered by a pharmacist showed: more knowledge, remembered what they learned and an increase in influenza vaccination.
Subject(s)
Health Education , Immunization/statistics & numerical data , Influenza, Human/prevention & control , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Program Development , Program Evaluation , Puerto Rico , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Pharmaceutical care is the philosophy of practice of the University of Puerto Rico, School of Pharmacy. Pharmacy students enrolled in the Oncology Clerkship providedpharmaceuticalcare to 35 patients with advanced cancer. The objectives were to provide pharmacy students the opportunity to practice pharmaceutical care and to implement published guidelines for the management of cancer pain. Activities included the assessment of pain intensity and of patients' educational needs, identification of drug related problems, intervention with patients and physicians to solve problems, and documentation of processes and outcomes measures. Thirty three patients had pain due to their disease with an average (r)worst pain(r) intensity of 5.5 on a 0-10 scale. Drug related problems were: subtherapeutic dosage, 24.2 per cent; lack of treatment, 18.2 per cent; adverse drug reactions, 12 per cent; improper drug selection, 9.1 per cent; and not taking the prescribed drug, 3 per cent. Outcomes of pharmaceutical services were: reduction of pain, increased knowledge about therapy, improved compliance, improved physician prescribing,and change in cost of medication. Students evaluated the clerkship favorably. The study provides data that supports a randomized trial to further study the impact of pharmaceutical care on the management of cancer pain. Outcomes evaluation should include clinical, humanistic and economic measures
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Education, Pharmacy , Neoplasms/physiopathology , Pain/drug therapy , Curriculum , Pain Measurement , Pain/etiology , Patient Compliance , Patient Education as Topic , Quality of Life , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Health related quality of life is an integral part of the outcomes of cancer treatment. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the concept of quality of life of cancer patients, and to summarize the validation studies of the ®Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy Scales® (FACT) in Hispanics. Results of the studies support the validity of the scale which has the following dimensions: physical well-being, social/family well-being, relationship with doctor, emotional well-being, and functional well-being. The validation work makes possible the assessment of quality of life in Hispanics. Clinical trials which assess health related quality of life as a treatment outcome provide baseline information for decision making in the financing of oncology treatments
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Neoplasms/therapy , Quality of Life , Clinical Trials as Topic , Neoplasms/psychology , Physician-Patient RelationsABSTRACT
Two hundred and sixty-three ambulatory patients older than 21 years of age who were attending clinics at an oncology hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, were studied. They completed a questionnaire (BQ-PR) that measures 8 concerns about reporting pain and using analgesics, such as fears of addiction and tolerance and the belief that reporting pain can distract a physician from focusing on curing one's disease. Ninety percent of the patients had at least some concern about each of the 8 topics, and mean scores on the 8 subscales were near the midpoint on a 0-5 scale. There were significant inverse relationships between level of education, income, and BQ-PR total score. Those persons who experienced cancer-related pain on the day they completed the questionnaire were categorized as using adequate versus not adequate analgesic medication, a determination that was based on a comparison of their level of pain to the medication they were using. Those who were not using adequate analgesic medication had higher BQ-PR total scores than did those who were using adequate medication.