Displaying all 7 publications

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  1. Bashaar M, Hassali MA, Saleem F
    J Pharm Policy Pract, 2015;8(1):16.
    PMID: 26078869 DOI: 10.1186/s40545-015-0037-3
    To report the attitudes of community pharmacists in Kabul, Afghanistan, concerning the quality and price of locally manufactured medicines.
  2. Bashaar M, Thawani V, Hassali MA, Saleem F
    BMC Public Health, 2017 01 07;17(1):45.
    PMID: 28061902 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3975-z
    BACKGROUND: Most of the medicine users remain unaware about the disposal of unused or expired medicines. The aim of this study was to know the disposal practices of unused and expired medicines among the general public in Kabul.

    METHODS: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey, conducted through face-to-face interviews using prevalidated structured questionnaire. Returned questionnaires were double-checked for accuracy. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23 was used for statistical analysis.

    RESULTS: Total of 301 valid questionnaires were returned with a response rate of 100% in which 73.4% men and 26.6% women participated. More than half of the respondents were university graduates. Interestingly, 83.4% of the interviewees purchased medicines on the prescription of which 47.2% were university graduates, while 14.6% purchased medicine over the counter. Among the respondents, 46.5/100 purchased antibiotics and the remaining purchased NSAIDs, anti-hypertensive and anti-diabetic medicines. Significantly, 97/100 checked the expiry date of medicine before buying. Majority (95.3%) of the respondents' stored medicines at home. 77.7% of the respondents discarded the expired medicines in household trash. Majority of respondents held government responsible for creation of awareness for proper medicine disposal. Almost entire sample (98%) felt that improper disposal of unused and expired medicines can affect the environment and health.

    CONCLUSION: Gaps exist in practices, therefore robust, safe and cost-effective pharmaceutical waste management program supported with media campaign is needed. Healthcare practitioners and community pharmacists should offer training to educate customers on standard medicine disposal practices.

  3. Hashmi FK, Hassali MA, Khalid A, Saleem F, Aljadhey H, Babar ZUD, et al.
    BMC Health Serv Res, 2017 07 19;17(1):500.
    PMID: 28724411 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-017-2442-6
    BACKGROUND: In recent decades, community pharmacies reported a change of business model, whereby a shift from traditional services to the provision of extended roles was observed. However, such delivery of extended pharmacy services (EPS) is reported from the developed world, and there is scarcity of information from the developing nations. Within this context, the present study was aimed to explore knowledge, perception and attitude of community pharmacists (CPs) about EPS and their readiness and acceptance for practice change in the city of Lahore, Pakistan.

    METHODS: A qualitative approach was used to gain an in-depth knowledge of the issues. By using a semi-structured interview guide, 12 CPs practicing in the city of Lahore, Pakistan were conveniently selected. All interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and were then analyzed for thematic contents by the standard content analysis framework.

    RESULTS: Thematic content analysis yielded five major themes. (1) Familiarity with EPS, (2) current practice of EPS, (3) training needed to provide EPS, (4) acceptance of EPS and (5) barriers toward EPS. Majority of the CPs were unaware of EPS and only a handful had the concept of extended services. Although majority of our study respondents were unaware of pharmaceutical care, they were ready to accept practice change if provided with the required skills and training. Lack of personal knowledge, poor public awareness, inadequate physician-pharmacist collaboration and deprived salary structures were reported as barriers towards the provision of EPS at the practice settings.

    CONCLUSION: Although the study reported poor awareness towards EPS, the findings indicated a number of key themes that can be used in establishing the concept of EPS in Pakistan. Over all, CPs reported a positive attitude toward practice change provided to the support and facilitation of health and community based agencies in Pakistan.

  4. Ghaffar R, Iqbal Q, Khalid A, Saleem F, Hassali MA, Baloch NS, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2017 Jul 25;17(1):51.
    PMID: 28743261 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-017-0411-1
    BACKGROUND: Anxiety and depression (A&D) are commonly reported among pregnant women from all over the world; however, there is a paucity of workable data from the developing countries including Pakistan. The current study, therefore, aims to find out the frequency and predictors of A&D among pregnant women attending a tertiary healthcare institutes in the city of Quetta, in the Balochistan province, Pakistan.

    METHODS: A questionnaire based, cross-sectional survey was conducted. The pre-validated Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used to assess the frequency of A&D among study respondents. Anxiety and depression scores were calculated via standard scoring procedures while logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of A&D. SPSS v. 20 was used for data analysis and p 

  5. Michael J, Iqbal Q, Haider S, Khalid A, Haque N, Ishaq R, et al.
    BMC Womens Health, 2020 01 06;20(1):4.
    PMID: 31906921 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-019-0874-3
    BACKGROUND: The current study is aimed to assess menstruation-related knowledge and practices of adolescent females visiting a public health care institute of Quetta city, Pakistan.

    METHODS: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted. Nine hundred and twenty three female adolescents attending general out-patient departments of Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Hospital Quetta, Balochistan, was approached for data collection. Based on the objectives of the study, descriptive analysis was conducted and SPSS v. 21.0 was used for the data analysis.

    RESULTS: Demographic characteristics revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 15 years. Mothers' (67%) were the main source of menstruation-related information. Majority (77.7%) of our respondents never had a class or session regarding menstruation-related education in their schools. About (44%) knew that menstruation is a physiological phenomenon while 60.2% knew that menstrual blood comes from the vagina. Nearly 40% of our study respondents missed their schools because of menarche. The use of absorbent material was frequent (90%) among the adolescent females and (68.7%) used commercially available sanitary napkins/pads. Although majority of the respondents (58.2%) were not taking baths during menstruation, 80.5% do cleaned their genitalia with water during menstruation.

    CONCLUSION: Female adolescents of our study had certain misconception regarding menstruation because of poor access to health-related education. Education can be provided at healthcare facilities, residential area as well as religious centers. Adolescent reproductive health should be included in the school curriculum; this will influence general reproductive health of females.

  6. Mustafa ZU, Manzoor MN, Shahid A, Salman M, Hayat K, Yasmin K, et al.
    J Multidiscip Healthc, 2022;15:2553-2562.
    PMID: 36388630 DOI: 10.2147/JMDH.S376664
    PURPOSE: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is leading to greater therapeutic cost, length of hospital stays, adverse events, morbidity and mortality. Hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) engaging physicians, pharmacists, microbiologists and nurses are considered as effective way to ensure appropriate use of antimicrobial agents. The aims of our study were to assess nurses' perception, involvement, confidence and barriers towards hospital-based ASPs, and use the findings to provide future guidance.

    METHODS: A web-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among the nurses serving at eleven hospitals of Punjab province of Pakistan during a period of two months (December 2021-January 2022). Data were collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.

    RESULTS: A total of 583 nurses participated in the study (response rate = 77.7%). All the participants were female staff nurses and 86% had a minimum of 3 years of working experience. The overall median score on the perception towards ASPs among the nurses was 18 (IQR: 16, 19) on a 0 to 20 scale whereas median score on the involvement in ASPs was 18 (IQR: 15, 37) on a 0 to 64 scale. Median perception and involvement score were statistically significantly differed by age (p < 0.001) and years of experience (p < 0.001). The overall median score on the confidence to perform ASP activities was 22 (IQR: 14, 24) on a 0 to 28 scale. Lack of knowledge, insufficient support from administration, and heavy workload were found to be the common barriers to perform ASP.

    CONCLUSION: Our study concluded that Pakistani nurses have positive perception but limited involvement in ASPs. Moreover, they are confident to perform ASP besides many barriers.

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