Evaluation of the use and attitudes of pregnant and postpartum women towards medicine utilisation during pregnancy in the United Arab Emirates: A national cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Pregnancy period is of high concern to every woman. Knowledge about medication use needs to be highlighted at such a critical stage. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess pregnant and postpartum women's use and attitude regarding the utilisation of medications during pregnancy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). METHODS: A self-administrated survey was distributed among 500 pregnant and postpartum women randomly selected from the general population of five different cities within the UAE: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, AL Fujairah and Ajman over a period of 3 months. All analyses were two-sided, and a P-value of ≤.05 was taken as the cut-off for statistical significance. RESULTS: Overall, 434 participants took part in the survey. Forty-one percent of respondents reported that they use drugs during pregnancy, and the most frequently used medications during pregnancy were multivitamins, analgesics and folic acid. Moreover, 77.9% of female participants acquired their knowledge from their gynaecologists. Only 21.7% of respondents reported that the pharmacist provided enough information during dispensing. Most ladies had an uplifting mentality towards medicines, but they believed pregnant ladies should be more wary with respect to medication use during pregnancy. A significant association was found between participants' nationality and occupation, and attitudes about medications (P < .001), where women with Arab nationality and those with health-related careers agreed that they have a higher threshold for using medicines during pregnancy. CONCLUSION: During pregnancy, ladies were more moderate and doubter towards the drug, healthcare providers should know about such mentalities while encouraging pregnant ladies to take prescription.

Challenges associated with mental health management: Barriers and consequences.

INTRODUCTION: Mental illness has become a global public health issue and according to WHO report in 2015, United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded the highest level of depression among all countries at Eastern Mediterranean Region. Many people frequently suffer from mental health diseases but tend not to obtain help. Treatment delay can become life-threatening. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the barriers to seeking professional help for mental illness and the consequences of untreated mental health disorders. The study also aimed to examine outcomes in patients when help was provided by health care providers. METHODS: A self-administrated survey was distributed among 377 people randomly selected from general population of three different cities at United Arab Emirates (UAE): Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Their perception of the barriers, consequences and outcomes was analyzed to achieve the objectives of the study. RESULTS: Overall, 341 participants completed the survey. Wrong thought regarding mental disorders (60.1%) and being ashamed (58.9%) were identified to be the most common and significant barriers (P < 0.001) that prevent people from obtaining healthcare providers' assistance. The majority of responders reported building confidence (78.9%) and improvement in relationships (73.0%) as outcomes for taking professional help in mental illness. Moreover, many individuals believed that untreated mental illness could lead to problems with family and friends (69.2%) as well as to suicidal thoughts (56.3%). CONCLUSION: This research gives some insights regarding the challenges associated with mental diseases management in the UAE. Majority of responders had a negative perception of mental health service due to a lack of awareness regarding treatment effectiveness for mental disorders.

Assessment of Egyptian pharmacists' attitude, behaviors, and preferences related to continuing education.

BACKGROUND: Contemporary pharmaceutical care requires sustained pharmacist competency through maintenance and improvement of knowledge, skills, and performance. Existing continuing education (CE) models reflect a wide spectrum of international approaches to life-long learning. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine CE preferences of pharmacists in Egypt before implementing a plan for compulsory annual CE activities and events for licensure renewal. SETTING: A questionnaire containing questions about continuing education needs and preferences of Egyptian pharmacists was distributed to 400 pharmacies in Cairo. The sample was drawn randomly from the address list in yellow pages. The survey was conducted by personal interview. METHOD: The questionnaire was designed and validated. Questions were divided into specific domains of interest including pharmacist demographics; access to internet resources; frequency and characteristics of past CE activities; preferences for delivery and content; motivation to participation; and plans for future CE activities. All data analyses were conducted using SPSS for Windows version 18.0. All statistical tests were 2-tailed and based on a significance level of p value ≤ 0.05. Results During the six months of questionnaire distribution, 400 pharmacists (one from each randomly selected pharmacies) were asked to complete the questionnaire. The response rate was 359 out of 400 pharmacists (89.75%). Twenty three percent of respondents had held their highest pharmacy degree to practice for less than 5 years and 19% had obtained their initial degree more than 15 years ago. More than half of the respondents were female (53.3%). Topics related to therapeutics were of highest interest to 85.3%, closely followed by clinical skills topics. Pharmacists working in community pharmacies had attended less CE events (15 vs. 28%, p = 0.034 within the past 2 years) when compared to their hospital-based counterparts. Conversely, hospital pharmacists generally reported less satisfaction with current CE (21 vs. 33%, p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: Respondents of the survey expressed enthusiasm towards CE activity, but cited common barriers to participation, as well, such as employer-and technology-based obstacles. These results confirm that features of a successful CE program must be flexible to meet preferences and perceived needs of Egyptian pharmacists.