Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 73 in total

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  1. Abdul Kadir N, Wahab MSA, Mohd Suhaimi A, Othman N
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2023 Nov;19(11):1412-1423.
    PMID: 37612154 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.08.004
    BACKGROUND: The involvement of community pharmacists (CPs) in the provision of pretravel health services is increasing due to the increase in international travelers, the increased risk of travel-related diseases, and the expansion of pharmacists' scope of practice in some countries. In order to improve the quality and effectiveness of pretravel health care provided by CPs, a greater understanding of the practices, barriers, and facilitators is required.

    OBJECTIVE: This scoping review aimed to identify and describe existing studies on pretravel health services provided by CPs, and the barriers, and facilitators.

    METHODS: The PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched for pertinent studies from their inception to February 2023. A manual search was also conducted of prominent travel medicine journals, Google Scholar, and the reference lists of the included studies. Potential barriers and facilitators were mapped to the 14 domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).

    RESULTS: There were twelve studies included in the review. Pretravel health advice was the most prevalent form of pretravel health services. Within ten domains of the TDF, various factors that either facilitate or impede the provision of pretravel health services by CPs were identified.

    CONCLUSION: The provision of pretravel health services by CPs may be affected by a number of practitioner and organizational factors. The provision of pretravel health services can be facilitated by informational resources, training and education in travel medicine, and collaboration amongst healthcare providers.

  2. Ahmad NS, Makmor-Bakry M, Hatah E
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2020 10;16(10):1359-1369.
    PMID: 31987771 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.01.002
    BACKGROUND: Drug price transparency is defined as readily available information on the price of pharmaceutical drugs to either authorities or consumers. Price transparency, together with other information, helps define the value of drugs and enables informed decision making. It has also been used as a reference in drug price setting mechanisms in some countries' pricing policies.

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the evidence available: 1) on government initiatives to mandate transparency in drug pricing worldwide, 2) on the reported effects of drug pricing transparency initiatives on drug price, and 3) on the limitations and barriers of the implementation of drug pricing transparency.

    METHODS: Databases such as Medline-Ovid, Cochrane Central Register, PubMed, and Science Direct were used to search for relevant literature from inception to February 2018. A manual search of grey literature such as policy papers, governmental publications, and websites was also performed to obtain the information that was not available in the articles. Using narrative synthesis, the results were critically assessed and summarized according to its context of drug pricing approaches.

    RESULTS: Of the 4382 relevant articles located, 12 studies met the inclusion criteria for drug price transparency initiatives. Only 3 studies reported the outcomes on the regulation of drug prices. Two studies in South Africa showed that price transparency initiatives did not necessarily reduce drug prices. Another study in the Philippines indicated a reduction in medicines' price based on the effects of government-mediated access prices. The limitations and barriers in price transparency initiatives include fragmentation of the healthcare system and nondisclosure of discounts and rebates by pharmaceutical companies.

    CONCLUSION: Drug pricing transparency initiatives have been implemented in many countries and commonly coexist with a country's pricing policies. Nevertheless, due to sparse evidence, the effect of drug price transparency initiatives on price control is still inconclusive.

  3. Ahmed A, Abdulelah Dujaili J, Rehman IU, Lay Hong AC, Hashmi FK, Awaisu A, et al.
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2021 Jul 28.
    PMID: 34353754 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2021.07.020
    BACKGROUND: Pharmacists play a significant role in the multidisciplinary care of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHA). However, there is less evidence to clarify the impact of pharmacist as an individual team member on HIV care.

    OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the effects of pharmacist intervention on improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), viral load (VL) suppression, and change in CD4-T lymphocytes in PLWHA.

    METHODS: We identified relevant records from six databases (Pubmed, EMBASE, ProQuest, Scopus, Cochrane, and EBSCOhost) from inception till June 2020. We included studies that evaluated the impact of pharmacist care activities on clinical outcomes in PLWHA. A random-effect model was used to estimate the overall effect [odds ratio (OR) for dichotomous and mean difference (MD) for continuous data] with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system was used to evaluate the quality of evidence. The review protocol was published on PROSPERO (CRD42020167994).

    RESULTS: Twenty-five studies involving 3206 PLWHA in which pharmacist-provided intervention either in the form of education with or without pharmaceutical-care either alone or as an interdisciplinary team member were included. Eight studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), while 17 studies were non-RCTs. Pooled-analyses showed a significant impact of pharmacist care compared to usual care group on adherence outcome (OR: 2.70 [95%, CI 1.80, 4.05]), VL suppression (OR: 4.13 [95% CI 2.27, 7.50]), and rise of CD4-T lymphocytes count (MD: 66.83 cells/mm3 [95% CI 44.08, 89.57]). The strength of evidence ranged from moderate, low to very low.

    CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that pharmacist care improves adherence, VL suppression, and CD4-T lymphocyte improvement in PLWHA; however, it should be noted that the majority of the studies have a high risk of bias. More research with more rigorous designs is required to reaffirm the impact of pharmacist interventions on clinical and economic outcomes in PLWHA.

  4. Al-Areefi MA, Hassali MA, Mohamed Ibrahim MI
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2013 Nov-Dec;9(6):981-8.
    PMID: 23218551 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2012.10.006
    Prescribing decisions are a complex phenomenon and influenced by many pharmacological and non-pharmacological factors. Little is known about the actual prescribing behaviors of physicians or the factors behind their prescribing decisions.
  5. Al-Qazaz HK, Hassali MA, Shafie AA, Syed Sulaiman SA, Sundram S
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2011 Jun;7(2):180-91.
    PMID: 21272545 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2010.04.005
    BACKGROUND: Diabetic patients' experience and knowledge about their medication play an important role in determining the success of long-term adherence in their disease management.
    OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore diabetic patients' experience and knowledge about diabetes and its medication and to understand the factors contributing to medication adherence in Malaysian population.
    METHODS: A qualitative research approach was adopted to gain a better understanding of the current perceptions and knowledge held by diabetic patients. Twelve patients were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Saturation point of the interview was reached after the 10th interview, and no more new themes emerged from the subsequent 2 interviews. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed by means of a standard content analysis framework.
    RESULTS: A total of 4 themes were identified from the interview analysis: knowledge about diabetes and its medication, experiences of adverse effects of medication, issues related to adherence, and the impact of medical and family relationships on well-being. Most of the patients were aware of the disease known as diabetes but unaware which type of diabetes they were suffering from. None of the participants knew the adverse effects of their medication, and most of them considered it to be safe. Financial barriers, forgetfulness, self-medication, and quality of relationships with doctor and family members seem to be the factors that challenge adherence in our sample of diabetic patients.
    CONCLUSION: This study identified a number of key themes that might be useful in enhancing the awareness of experiences, knowledge, adherence, and attitudes of Malaysian patients with diabetes. More efforts should be taken to estimate how diabetic patients take their medication, and a well-planned educational program is also required to educate and encourage patients to practice a healthy lifestyle.
  6. Alfadl AA, Hassali MA, Ibrahim MI
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2013 May-Jun;9(3):302-10.
    PMID: 22835708 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2012.05.002
    The counterfeit drug trade has become widespread and has developed into a substantial threat to both the public's health and the pharmaceutical industry.
  7. Appalasamy JR, Selvaraj A, Wong YH, Dujaili JA, Kow CS
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2022 Jan 31.
    PMID: 35168890 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2022.01.008
    OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions on the smoking cessation service provided by community pharmacists.

    METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in May-July 2021, in electronic databases, which included PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, and Web of Science. Studies were included in this systematic review if they were original articles published in English language from 2010 to 2021 and evaluated the effect of any types of educational interventions intended to improve the ability of community pharmacists to provide smoking cessation services.

    RESULTS: In total, 12 studies were included for this systematic review. The effectiveness of the educational interventions across the included studies was measured using a range of outcomes, which can be broadly categorized into 3 categories, namely changes in pharmacists' self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitude toward providing smoking cessation service, changes in pharmacists' smoking cessation practices, and changes in the effectiveness of community pharmacy based smoking cessation services. Included studies reported that educational interventions can improve pharmacists' self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitude toward smoking cessation, as well as pharmacists' smoking cessation practices. Though the evidence is limited, improvement in the effectiveness of community pharmacy based smoking cessation services has also been observed.

    CONCLUSION: Any form educational interventions can positively impact improve community pharmacists' self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitude toward smoking cessation, as well as pharmacists' smoking cessation practices, but it is currently uncertain whether these outcomes are able to translate into higher effectiveness of the community pharmacy based smoking cessation services.

  8. Balan S, Hassali MA, Mak VSL
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2017 May-Jun;13(3):653-655.
    PMID: 27493130 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2016.06.014
    The pediatric population is an enormously diverse segment of population varying both in size and age. The diversity caused pharmacists face various challenges primarily related to procuring, provision as well as use of drugs in this group of patients. Pediatric dose calculation is particularly a concern for pharmacists. Another challenge faced by pharmacists is unavailability of suitable formulations for pediatric use. This has also led many pharmacists to prepare extemporaneous liquid preparations, even though stability data on such preparations are scarce. Some extemporaneous preparations contain excipients which are potentially harmful in children. Besides that, inadequate labeling and drug information for pediatric drug use had not only challenged pharmacists in recommending and optimizing drug use in children, but also inadvertently caused many drugs used outside the approved terms of the product license (off-label use). Pharmacists are striving to stay connected to overcome the common and comparable challenges faced in their day to day duties and strive to maximize the safe and effective use of medicines for children.
  9. Chang CT, Teoh SL, Rajan P, Lee SWH
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2023 Aug;19(8):1146-1156.
    PMID: 37277240 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.05.017
    BACKGROUND: Explicit potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) criteria are commonly used to identify and deprescribe potentially inappropriate prescriptions among older patients. Most of these criteria were developed specifically for the Western population, which might not be applicable in an Asian setting. The current study summarizes the methods and drug lists to identify PIM in older Asian people.

    METHODS: A systematic review of published and unpublished studies were carried out. Included studies described the development of explicit criteria for PIM use in older adults and provided a list of medications that should be considered inappropriate. PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus searches were conducted. The PIMs were analyzed according to the general conditions, disease-specific conditions, and drug-drug interaction classes. The qualities of the included studies were assessed using a nine-point evaluation tool. The kappa agreement index was used to evaluate the level of agreement between the identified explicit PIM tools.

    RESULTS: The search yielded 1206 articles, and 15 studies were included in our analysis. Thirteen criteria were identified in East Asia and two in South Asia. Twelve out of the 15 criteria were developed using the Delphi method. We identified 283 PIMs independent of medical conditions and 465 disease-specific PIMs. Antipsychotics were included in most of the criteria (14/15), followed by tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) (13/15), antihistamines (13/15), sulfonylureas (12/15), benzodiazepines (11/15), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) (11/15). Only one study fulfilled all the quality components. There was a low kappa agreement (k = 0.230) between the included studies.

    CONCLUSION: This review included 15 explicit PIM criteria, which most listed antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antihistamines as potentially inappropriate. Healthcare professionals should exercise more caution when dealing with these medications among older patients. These results may help healthcare professionals in Asian nations to create regional standards for the discontinuation of potentially harmful drugs for elderly patients.

  10. Chong WW, Aslani P, Chen TF
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2014 Mar-Apr;10(2):419-37.
    PMID: 23787139 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2013.05.006
    BACKGROUND: Effective communication between community pharmacists and patients, particularly with a patient-centered approach, is important to address patients' concerns relating to antidepressant medication use. However, few studies have investigated community pharmacists' communication behaviors in depression care.
    OBJECTIVE: To characterize community pharmacist-patient interactions during consultations involving use of antidepressants.
    METHODS: Twenty community pharmacists received 3 simulated patient visits involving issues related to the use of antidepressants: 1) patient receiving a first-time antidepressant prescription; 2) patient perceiving lack of efficacy of antidepressants after 2 weeks of treatment, and 3) patient intending to discontinue treatment prematurely. All 60 encounters were audio-recorded and analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS), a quantitative coding system that characterizes communication behaviors through discrete categories. A patient-centeredness score was calculated for each encounter.
    RESULTS: The majority of pharmacist communication was biomedical in nature (50.7%), and focused on providing therapeutic information and advice on the antidepressant regimen. In contrast, only 5.4% of pharmacist communication was related to lifestyle/psychosocial exchanges. There were also few instances of emotional rapport-building behaviors (8.6%) or information gathering (6.6%). Patient-centered scores were highest in the scenario involving a first-time antidepressant user, as compared to other scenarios involving issues with continued therapy.
    CONCLUSIONS: Community pharmacists appeared to adopt a "medication-centered" approach when counseling on antidepressant issues. There is scope for improvement in patient-centered communication behaviors, particularly lifestyle/psychosocial discussions, facilitating patient participation, and emotional rapport-building. The RIAS appears suited to characterize brief consultations in community pharmacies and can provide a framework in guiding communication training efforts. Further research is needed to assess the impact of pharmacist communication behaviors on patient care outcomes.
    KEYWORDS: Antidepressant adherence; Patient-centeredness; Pharmacist–patient communication; Roter Interaction Analysis System
  11. Christopher CM, Blebil AQ, Bhuvan KC, Alex D, Mohamed Ibrahim MI, Ismail N, et al.
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2023 Dec;19(12):1520-1530.
    PMID: 37574369 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.08.001
    BACKGROUND: As the largest demographic group utilizing primary healthcare facilities, older adults often face the challenge of managing multiple chronic illnesses, leading to numerous medications.

    OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to assess medication use problems among older adults and explore the factors affecting them in primary healthcare settings.

    METHODS: A mixed-method study was conducted to establish a baseline understanding of the perspectives and challenges faced by older adults, with regards to medication use. Translated Medication Use Questionnaire (MedUseQ), a patient-centered tool, was distributed to older adults above 60 in primary healthcare settings to assess their frequency of problems related to medication use. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore this topic in depth. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted with quantitative data. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was conducted. Quantitative and qualitative findings data were triangulated.

    RESULTS: The study involved 393 participants. The most common problems with regards to medication use were polypharmacy (55.4%), administration difficulties (48.4%), limited awareness about adverse drug events (47.3%), issues with adherence (46.5%), and accessibility to primary healthcare (42.7%). Approximately 55% were satisfied with the older adult-centered medication use services by pharmacist and doctors. The qualitative findings showed that major factors affecting medication use were forgetfulness, language barriers, lack of awareness, transportation problems, long waiting times, and multiple visits to healthcare facilities.

    CONCLUSION: The findings of this study reveal that a significant proportion, around 50%, of the older adult population face challenges with medication use in Penang. These difficulties mainly stem from medication administration, adherence, accessibility, polypharmacy, and inadequate medication knowledge. The qualitative analysis further highlighted several factors that contribute to such medication-related problems. Given the rapidly aging Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) population, it is essential to devise effective solutions and strategies to tackle medication use-related issues among older adults.

  12. Collins JC, Chong WW, de Almeida Neto AC, Moles RJ, Schneider CR
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2021 12;17(12):2108-2115.
    PMID: 33972178 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2021.04.021
    The simulated patient method is becoming increasingly popular in health services research to observe the behaviour of healthcare practitioners in a naturalistic setting. This method involves sending a trained individual (simulated patient among other names), who is indistinguishable from a regular consumer, into a healthcare setting with a standardised scripted request. This paper provides an overview of the method, a brief history of its use in health services research, comparisons with other methods, ethical considerations, and considerations for the development of studies using the simulated patient method in health services research, with examples from pharmacy and other fields. Methods of analysis, mixed-methods, and the use of simulated patients with feedback are also discussed.
  13. Elnaem MH, Cheema E
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2021 01;17(1):1938-1941.
    PMID: 32507575 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.05.030
    The current pandemic of the COVID-19 infection, coupled with the increased global burden of diabetes, has imposed significant challenges to the healthcare providers in providing effective and sustained care to patients with diabetes during the ongoing pandemic. It is, therefore, important for healthcare providers to understand and follow the recommended changes in the delivery of care, lifestyle modifications, and pharmacotherapy to ensure optimal care to the patients during and post-pandemic era. This commentary aims to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on diabetes care and the important considerations for pharmacists during this pandemic.
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