OBJECTIVE: To implement a chatbot on the Facebook® platform to establish connections with healthcare professionals who had subscribed to the chatbot, provide medical and pharmaceutical educational content, and collect data for online pharmacy research projects. Facebook® was chosen because it has billions of daily active users which offers a massive potential audience for research projects.
PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: The chatbot was successfully implemented on the Facebook® platform following three consecutive steps. Firstly, the ChatPion script was installed on the Pharmind website to establish the chatbot system. Secondly, the PharmindBot application was developed on Facebook®. Finally, the PharmindBot app was integrated with the chatbot system.
PRACTICE INNOVATION: The chatbot responds automatically to public comments and sends subscribers private responses using artificial intelligence. The chatbot collected quantitative and qualitative data with minimal costs.
EVALUATION METHODS: The chatbot's auto-reply function was tested using a post published on a specific page on Facebook®. Testers were asked to leave pre-defined keywords to test its functionality. The chatbot's ability to collect and save data was tested by asking testers to fill out an online survey within Facebook Messenger® for quantitative data and answer pre-defined questions for qualitative data.
RESULTS: The chatbot was tested on 1000 subscribers who interacted with it. Almost all testers (n = 990, 99%) obtained a successful private reply from the chatbot after sending a pre-defined keyword. Also, the chatbot replied privately to almost all public comments (n = 985, 98.5%) which helped to increase the organic reach and to establish a connection with the chatbot subscribers. No missing data was found when the chatbot was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data.
CONCLUSIONS: The chatbot reached thousands of healthcare professionals and provided them with automated responses. At a low cost, the chatbot was able to gather both qualitative and quantitative data without relying on Facebook® ads to reach the intended audience. The data collection was efficient and effective. Using chatbots by pharmacy and medical researchers will help do more feasible online studies using AI to advance healthcare research.
METHODS: In total, 60 regular kratom users and 50 healthy control-group participants were recruited and administered a sociodemographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire. While participants who used kratom were also administered a kratom use characteristics questionnaire. Blood samples were collected from all participants, and targeted ER stress sensor protein expression was determined via Western blot analysis.
RESULTS: The study's findings revealed first that kratom users registered significantly higher protein expression in all targeted ER stress sensors compared to the control group. Second, higher protein expression of CHOP (B = 5.061, standard error [SE] = 2.547, Wald = 3.948, adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 5.382, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.071 to 9.656, p = 0.047) and p-JNK (B = 5.795, SE = 2.635, Wald = 4.544, AOR = 17.025, 95% CI = 1.395 to 24.123, p = 0.017) increased the odds of kratom use disorder occurrence. Kratom use characteristics and other ER stress sensor protein expression were not associated with kratom use disorder.
CONCLUSION: Regular kratom use may induce protracted ER stress, leading to the decompensation of the unfolded protein response to maintain ER homeostasis. This effect may be linked to kratom use disorder occurrence.
OBJECTIVE: To validate and develop an instrument in Bahasa Melayu to assess the psychological distress and self-medication during pandemic Covid-19 in WP Labuan.
METHODS: A pilot study was conducted among 160 participants in WP Labuan. Reliability testing on internal consistency and content validity was performed on the adapted Covid-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) as well as domain on knowledge, practice and attitude of self-medication.
RESULT: A panel of seven experts evaluated the research instrument for content validity and it was found to have good content item validity. The CPDI domain showed good internal consistency of Cronbach's Alpha of 0.919. The mean (SD) CPDI score of the respondents in WP Labuan was 32.55 (15.98). 64.2% of the respondents experienced psychological distress. The variable for Area (town/countryside) was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05) to be associated with self-medication during the pandemic.
CONCLUSION: The instrument established sound reliability and validity and therefore, can be an effective tool for assessing psychological distress and self-medication in the Malaysian population.
METHODS: A total of 20 PWUK and 20 age matched non-kratom using healthy controls were recruited. Data collected from PWUK included patterns of kratom use, severity of kratom dependence, and severity of depressive symptoms during abstinence from kratom. The mRNA expression of binding immunoglobulin protein ( BiP ), X-box binding protein 1, activating transcription factor 4, and C/-EBP homologous protein ( CHOP ) (major indicators of ER stress response) were analyzed using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in leucocyte-derived total RNA sample of the participants.
RESULTS: PWUK regardless of their pattern of kratom use recorded significantly higher expression of BiP mRNA compared with controls. Expression of CHOP mRNA was only significantly higher in those who first consumed kratom at the age of 18 years and above and those who have been using kratom for longer than 6 years, compared with controls. Higher expression of BiP , ATF4 , and CHOP mRNA were significantly positive correlated with greater severity of kratom dependence. Although only higher expression of BiP and CHOP mRNA were significantly positively correlated with greater severity of depressive symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS: Regular kratom consumption may activate the ER stress pathway and there may be a link between altered ER stress response and kratom dependence and kratom induced depressive symptoms.