Psychometric assessment of pharmacists' counseling in dementia.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore pharmacists' counseling for dementia by developing a measurement tool based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. METHODS: A survey was applied online to community pharmacists; in total, 190 community pharmacists participated in the study. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and Mann-Whitney U test were performed. RESULTS: A six-factor structure was obtained from the EFA, and the CFA confirmed the structure. These factors explained 71.294% of the total variance. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the factors ranged from 0.728 to 0.913. In addition, the pharmacists rated themselves as having positive attitudes and intentions toward counseling for dementia. Differences in these factors were found between the groups based on their participation in vocational training on dementia. CONCLUSION: The developed measurement tool had a satisfactory construct and convergent and discriminant validities and reliabilities. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The developed measurement tool can be used to investigate pharmacists' self-reported counseling for dementia and can also be applied to the counseling behavior of pharmacists in various health conditions.

Determination of Factors Influencing Pharmacists While Recommending Immune-Enhancing Products via Analytic Hierarchy Process.

Objectives: Immune enhancers are attracting attention day by day. Besides, during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been an increasing demand for immune enhancers. Pharmacists are seen as trustable providers of complementary and alternative medicines, dietary and herbal supplements, immune-enhancers, and so on. This study aims to prioritization criteria that affect community pharmacists' recommending behavior regarding immune enhancers. Materials and Methods: This paper adopts the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to rank different criteria substantial for affecting community pharmacists' recommending behavior regarding immune enhancers. In this direction, firstly seven criteria were identified through literature review and views of pharmacists who have community pharmacy experiences. These are; (i) ease of access, (ii) selling price, (iii) package, (iv) content (appropriateness to patient health status), (v) expectation of patient, (vi) quality, and (vii) trust in the manufacturer. Then, a questionnaire including criteria was prepared and delivered to community pharmacists. The data obtained from 93 participants were transferred to the Super Decisions software. The hierarchical structure of the AHP was established and pair-wise comparisons were made. Results: This study showed that the most important criterion was the ease of access (28%). Secondly, pharmacists give importance to the content of the product, while advising immune-enhancers (22%). Besides, it was determined that the least important criterion was the package of the product (4%). Conclusion: This study will contribute to the literature by facilitating the process of assessing factors that pharmacists pay attention to while recommending immune-enhancing products. Additionally, the present study results will shed light on firms producing such products, to shape their supply chain management strategies, especially for marketing and sales.

Determination of Pharmacists' Opinions about Collegial Solidarity.

OBJECTIVES: Colleague solidarity, which emphasizes trust, independent thinking skills, and sharing, enables the problems encountered in the health service delivery to be dealt with effectively. This study aims to identify the current situation regarding colleague solidarity among pharmacists, which is also included in Turkey's pharmacy legislation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: "Colleague Solidarity Scale Among Nurses" was used in this study conducted with the questionnaire technique. The scale comprises of 23 items and was scored using a 5-point Likert scale. In addition, there were three demographic questions and six questions to get information from participants related to collegial solidarity in the questionnaire. RESULTS: As a result of the exploratory factor analysis (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin: 0.837), three factors reported 51.029% of the total variance. The t-test indicated a significant difference between gender groups only in the negative opinions about solidarity (NOS) factor (p=0.000). Females exhibited more negative thoughts about solidarity. The ANOVA showed a significant difference in the academic solidarity (AS) factor (p=0.007) among the participants' works in community pharmacies and universities. Pharmacists working in universities had higher means in the AS factor. Moreover, the number of working years made significant differences in the emotional solidarity factor (p=0.000) and NOS factor (p=0.002). Additionally, it was found that the average responses in all factors of the participants who thought that they supported their colleagues in need and that solidarity with their colleagues increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic period (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that colleague solidarity among pharmacists should be addressed profoundly as an element specified in legislation and education processes. It is crucial to determine the level of colleague solidarity and improve it using this scale for different practice areas in pharmacy.

Flaxseed Protects Against Diabetes-Induced Glucotoxicity by Modulating Pentose Phosphate Pathway and Glutathione-Dependent Enzyme Activities in Rats.

This study investigated the effects of flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) intake on general metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and glutathione-dependent enzymes in diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin injection (40 mg/kg, i.p.) and the enzyme activities were determined spectrophotometrically. Diabetic and control rats were divided in two subgroups, one untreated, and one treated with flaxseed (0.714 g/kg body weight/day; orally) for 12 weeks. Flaxseed ameliorated decreased body weight (p < .05) and increased blood glucose (p < .001), triglyceride (p < .001), ALT (p < .001) and AST (p < .001) in diabetic rats. Diabetes resulted in increased glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) (p < .05) and decreased glutathione-S-transferase (GST) (p < .01), but unchanged 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) and glutathione reductase (GR) in the brain of rats. These alterations were partially improved by flaxseed in comparison to diabetic untreated group (p < .05). G6PD, 6PGD, GR were elevated (p < .001), while GST unchanged in the lung of diabetic untreated group compared to control. Flaxseed partially prevented the increase in 6PGD (p < .05) and GR (p < .01), but unaffected G6PD in the lung of diabetic rats. G6PD (p < .001), 6PGD (p < .05), GR (p < .001) were augmented, while GST showed a significant (p < .001) depletion in the pancreas of diabetic untreated rats compared to control. Diabetic alterations observed in pancreatic enzyme activities were significantly prevented by flaxseed. Furthermore, a remarkable decrease in 6PGD (p < .001) and an increase in G6PD (threefold of control) were found in the lens of diabetic untreated group that were completely prevented by flaxseed (p < .001). Flaxseed has beneficial effects against diabetes-induced glucotoxicity by modulating G6PD, 6PGD, GR and GST activities in tissues.