Minor Ailments Research Articles

Survey and Analysis of Age and Antiplatelet/Anticoagulation Medication Status of the Desert Regional Medical Center Emergency Department Patients.

ObjectiveTo delineate whether the geographical region served by the Desert Regional Medical Center (DRMC) emergency department (ED) in Palm Springs, California has a higher percentage of patients taking antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant medications during the winter season due to the seasonal influx of elderly patients.MethodWe conducted a prospective study in the patients seen in the DRMC ED between November 12, 2019 and November 14, 2019, and those patients were anonymously surveyed regarding their outpatient use of antiplatelet and anticoagulant medications. Verbal consent for participation was obtained. All the registered patients at the DRMC ED during the prescribed period of time were included. While the patients who were sent home by a triage nurse for non-medical issues or minor ailments requiring no treatment from ED providers and patients who refused to participate or were unable to consent were excluded. Age, gender, medication status including whether on any medication, antiplatelet and anticoagulant use, including dosage, and last dose time were recorded.ResultsOf the 110 consecutive patients arriving to the ED during the study period, 11 patients were unwilling or unable to provide consent for participation. Of the 99 participating patients, 37 (37%) were over 65 years old. The most common antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant medication taken by the patients was aspirin (24 patients). Aspirin was most commonly taken as once a day, in a total of 11 patients (11%). Thirty patients were taking one or more antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications. ConclusionED at a hospital in Palm Springs, California has more elderly visits as compared to the national and California state averages. However, antiplatelet usage in elderly patients in our study was lower than the national average.

LISTEN UP (Locally Integrated Screening and Testing Ear aNd aUral Programme): a feasibility study protocol for a community pharmacy-based ear health intervention

BackgroundEar disease is a major cause of preventable hearing loss and is very common in rural communities, estimated to affect 1.3 million Australians. Rural community pharmacists are well placed to provide improved ear health care to people who are unable to easily access a general practitioner (GP). The purpose of this study is to apply an ear health intervention to the rural community-pharmacy setting in Queensland, Australia, to improve the management of ear disease. The aims are the following: (1) to evaluate the feasibility, potential effectiveness and acceptability of a community pharmacy-based intervention for ear health, (2) to evaluate the use of otoscopy and tympanometry by pharmacists in managing ear complaints in community pharmacy and (3) to evaluate the extended role of rural pharmacists in managing ear complaints, with the potential to expand nationally to improve minor ailment management in rural communities.Methods/designThis is a longitudinal pre- and post-test study of a community-pharmacy-based intervention with a single cohort of up to 200 patients from two rural community pharmacies. Usual care practices pertaining to the management of ear complaints will be recorded prior to the intervention for 8 weeks. The intervention will then be piloted for 6 weeks, followed by a 12 month impact study. Patients aged > 13 years presenting to the pharmacies with an ear complaint will be invited to participate. Trained pharmacists will conduct an examination including a brief history, hearing screening, otoscopy and tympanometry assessments. Patients will be referred to a general practitioner (GP) if required, according to the study protocol. Patients will complete a satisfaction survey and receive a follow-up phone call at 7 days to explore outcomes including prescribed medications and referrals. Pharmacists and GPs will complete pre- and post- intervention interviews. Patient, pharmacist and GP data will be analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis for the qualitative data.DiscussionThis study will demonstrate the implementation of a screening and referring ear health intervention in rural community pharmacy. Feasibility, potential effectiveness and acceptability of the intervention will be assessed.Trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry Number: ACTRN12620001297910.

Prevalence, knowledge and perception of self-medication practice among undergraduate healthcare students

BackgroundGlobally, self-medication is a common practice, and an increasingly perceived necessity to relieve burdens on health services. However, inappropriate self-medication may result to reduced health outcomes, increased antimicrobial resistance and economic waste. Healthcare students are the future health professionals who will be consistently responsible for educating the public on rational use of medication. This study therefore aimed to assess the prevalence, knowledge and perception of self-medication practices among healthcare students.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out among 866 healthcare students in a Nigerian University, comprising medical, nursing and pharmacy students. Information was garnered from respondents using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics, while Chi-square and logistic regression tests were used for categorical variables at p < 0.05.ResultsMean age was 21 ± 2.8 years, and female respondents were 447 (51.6%). Prevalence of self-medication among respondents was 473 (54.6%). A total of 288 (55.3%) demonstrated good knowledge of self-medication practices, comprising 250 (52.2%) among those who have previously self-medicated and 229 (47.8%) among those who had not. Reasons for engaging in self-medication practices were mentioned to include treatment of minor ailments (357; 32.4%), while 248 (22.5%) believed they had the medical knowledge of what to use. Analgesic (353; 30.1%), antimalarial (352; 30.0%), and antibiotics (182; 15.5%) were the commonest classes of medication used for self-medication. Headache (363; 18.4%), malaria (334; 16.9%), and cough (184; 9.3%) were the most frequently treated conditions. More than half (281; 59.4%) of the respondents’ purchased their self-medicated drugs from the community pharmacy. Gender and respondents’ disciplines were found to be the independent predictors for good knowledge of self-medication practice.ConclusionPrevalence of self-medication among the studied healthcare students is moderately high, while approximately half demonstrates good knowledge and perception of self-medication practices. Stimulation for self-medication practice largely arise from the perception of treating minor ailments. This underscores a need for advocacy on responsible self-medication practice during the formal training of these future health professionals, in order to avert its imminent/widespread negative consequences.

Utilization of Nursing Guideline and Videos Assisted Teaching for Alleviation of Minor Ailments Among Primigravida Mothers

Background: Minor ailments/disorders are only minor as much as they are not life threatening. As soon as a women become pregnant and experience that fatigue of early pregnancy coupled with nausea and vomiting. A minor ailment may escalate and become a serious complication of pregnancy. They are heart burn, excessive salivation, pica, constipation, back ache, cramps, frequency of micturition, leucorrhea, fainting and insomnia. Aims of this study are to: evaluate the effect of utilization of nursing guideline and assisted teaching videos on knowledge& self-care reported practice for alleviation of minor ailments among primigravida mothers through the following; assessing the knowledge and self-care practice of them& designing and implementing these guideline and teaching videos according to women’ needs and finally evaluating the impact of these on knowledge and personal - care practice regarding management of minor discomfort. Subjects and Methods: Research design: quasi- experimental design was used to the current research. Setting: The study was conducted at Obstetric Outpatient clinics at zagazig University Hospital, Subjects: a total of 100 primigravida mothers were recruited in the study. Tools of data collection: Three tools were used for data collection; structured interviewing questionnaire, knowledge assessment questionnaire & self-care reported practice assessment questionnaire .Results: results indicated that the score of mothers’ knowledge and practice before and after the program implementation was satisfactory with statistically significant differences. Conclusion: The study concluded that, the knowledge & self-reported practice level of the pregnant mothers under the study were significant improved regarding the management of minor discomforts by using standard nursing guideline& video assisted teaching. Recommendations: based on the findings of this research the following recommendations are suggested: awareness campaigns & developing and implementing in the department of obstetrics & gynecology to support pregnant women in order to alleviate minor discomfort during pregnancy.

Community Pharmacy Minor Ailment Service (PMAS): An Untapped Resource for Children and Their Carers.

Background: The Pharmacy Minor Ailment Service (PMAS) was introduced in the UK over 15 years ago for use in treating minor ailments and has been shown to be effective and acceptable by the public in reducing the burden on high-cost healthcare settings (such as general practice and emergency departments). This paper aims to review the use of a PMAS in the paediatric population. Methods: PMAS was established in a London Borough in 2013. Data were collected from 33 pharmacists and 38 GPs on demographics, service utilization and costs. Results: In total, 6974 face-to-face consultations by 4174 patients were provided by pharmacies as part of the PMAS over a 12-month period. Moreover, 57% of patients were children with fever, hay fever and sore throat, accounting for 58% of consultations. Only 2% were signposted to other services. Sixty-nine percent of patients reported being seen within 5 min and 96% of patients were seen within 10 min with high levels of satisfaction. Cost savings of over GBP 192,000 were made during the scheme. Conclusions: PMAS is a highly cost effective, accessible and acceptable service for children with minor illnesses.

Proposal and Validation of a New Classification of Surgical Outcomes after Colorectal Resections within an Enhanced Recovery Programme.

Background Advantages of Enhanced Recovery (ER) programmes in colorectal surgery have already been demonstrated, but heterogeneity exists with respect to the choice of compared outcomes. A comprehensive classification aimed at standardizing the reporting of surgical outcomes has been proposed and validated. Method Clinical variables of 231 patients who underwent colorectal resections within an ER programme from 2013–2018 were analysed. Their outcomes have been reported according to a new classification in 5 classes and 11 subclasses. Prognostic variables have been identified. Results Seventy-nine patients (34.2%) had an optimal class 1 outcome. Almost half of the patients had an uneventful recovery after being discharged after day 4 (2a). Only two patients (0.9%) were discharged early and then readmitted for a minor ailment (2b). Total morbidity was 12.6% (3a–5). Perioperative mortality was 2.6% (5). Young age, laparoscopic resection, and years of experience with ER have been identified as independent prognostic factors towards a totally positive outcome. Conclusions The proposed outcome classification is a simple and objective tool to report the surgical outcome in clinical studies. Its implementation seems to be appropriate, in particular, in the field of ER protocols in colorectal surgery, but it can have a wider application in any other surgical subspeciality.

Analysis of diverse factors influencing the health status as well as medical and health service utilization in the floating elderly of China

BackgroundBased on the “China Migrants Dynamic Survey-Special investigation on Floating Elderly in 8 megacities in 2015”, the health status and the utilization of medical and health services in floating elderly were described and analyzed.ObjectiveScientific basis and critical suggestions are provided for improving the utilization level of medical and health services in the floating elderly and designing targeted health policies to improve their well-being.MethodsThe rank-sum test and Pearson χ2 test were used to compare the health status of floating elderly with different characteristics. Thereafter based on Andersen model, floating characteristics were added and binary logistic regression was used to explore the influencing factors of medical and health service utilization in the floating elderly.ResultsAbout 94.7% of the floating elderly were self-assessed as healthy/basically healthy. About 24.2% had hypertension or diabetes as diagnosed by the qualified doctors. About 7% suffered from diseases that required hospitalization. Only 28.6% of the floating elderly with hypertension or diabetes had visited a doctor for follow-up. In the case of minor ailments, only 48.7% decided to visit the clinics. Approximately 70.7% of the floating elderly had used in-patient services when they suffered from diseases requiring hospitalization.ConclusionThe floating elderly were observed to be generally in good health but a high prevalence of hypertension or diabetes was observed among them. The cultivation of health awareness was found to be of great significance contributing to the improvement of the overall health level among the floating elderly. The basic medical insurance coverage was low, and the medical and health services were found to be severely underutilized. Adequate social support can promote the health of the floating elderly and improve their utilization of medical and health services. The floating reasons, scope and years of the elderly significantly affected their health status and the utilization rate of the basic public health services.

Pharmacist Prescribing for Minor Ailments Service Development: The Experience in Ontario.

To date, eight of ten Canadian provinces have authorized pharmacists to prescribe for minor ailments. Prompted by a request by the Ontario Minister of Health, draft regulations were submitted to enable this pharmacy service in Ontario. Differences exist in how jurisdictions have approached development and delivery of these programs. This paper will summarize key differences and similarities among existing programs while highlighting the multi-pronged approach utilized by Ontario. Such an approach involved broad stakeholder engagement, implementation science, and an evaluations framework to guide an assessment of the impact of this new service. These insights can be leveraged by other jurisdictions planning to initiate or evolve their minor ailment prescribing services.

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIACNE ACTIVITY OF LEAVES EXTRACT OF LAGERSTROEMIA INDICA

Medicinal plants have bioactive compounds which are used for curing of various human diseases and also play an important role in healing. Secondary constituents contain alkaloids, flavonoids, phenol, sapon in, steroids and tannins. Medicinal plants have anticancer, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antidiuretic and anti-inflammation activities. The increasing interest in powerful biological activity of secondary metabolites outlined the necessity of determining their contents in medicinal plants. In Indian Ayurvedic system, Lagerstroemia Indica (Lythraceae) are well-known plants used for major and minor ailments. The aim of the present study is to examine leaf of Lagerstroemia Indica for phytochemical profile, antioxidant potential, antimicrobial including anti acne activity. Qualitative analysis of various phytochemical constituents and quantitative analysis of total phenolics and flavonoids were determined by the well-known test protocol available in the literature. Quantitative analysis of phenolic and flavonoids was carried out by FolinsCiocalteau reagent method and aluminium chloride method respectively. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of phenols, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, fixed oil and fats. The present study concluded that the crude extract of Lagerstroemia Indica is a rich source of secondary phytoconstituents which impart significant antioxidant potential. The extract of Lagerstroemia Indica possess antimicrobial effectiveness againt P. acne and other microbes, In Vitro anti acne activity. The findings of the present study will be helpful to phytochemists, pharmacologists and pharmaceutical industries.&#x0D; Keywords: Lagerstroemia Indica, Phytochemical, Antioxidant, Antiacne.

Review on Assessment of Self-Medication and Factors Influencing Self-Medication Practice among Pediatric Population

Self-medication refers to patients who use non-prescription medicines, usually over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, to treat certain ‘minor’ ailments themselves without consulting a medical practitioner and without any medical supervision. In pediatric context, self-medication implies administration of medication by the care giver without medical consultation. Parents sometimes exhibit the habit of self-medication for the diseases of their children. Today, children take responsibility for their medications at different ages; children often take responsibility for taking medications at a young age especially when they are suffering from chronic conditions. Children aged 16-18 years are observed to self-medicate for minor ailments like cold, fever, headache and pain. Hence this population is at a greater risk of medication errors and there is a need to improve the pediatric medication safety. Various factors influencing self-medication are patient and care giver educational level, awareness about health, accessibility to medicine and health care facilities, time constraint, ineffective prescription, thinking disease is not serious, ease and convenience, cost of physician’s service development of new technologies (e.g. internet and related communication) is promoting self-medication worldwide. Economic and cultural factors have contributed to the growth and spread of self-medication worldwide. The remaining of the previous prescription drugs which are present at home is used, previous experience on efficacy of the drug. This systematic review of self-medication in pediatric population studies showed that more than half of the populations were self-medicated. Keywords: self-medication, pediatric population.

Veterinary Drug Development from Indonesian Herbal Origin: Challenges and Opportunities

Herbal medicine is increasingly being used in human and veterinary medicine to reduce and prevent minor ailments and support conventional treatment using allopathic medicine. The medicinal properties of the plants used in phytotherapy are due to the large number of active compounds found in the plant kingdom. The active compounds extracted from the plant is often equivalent to a synthetic drug according to its therapeutic efficacy; thus, they are used in veterinary medicine, primarily as antibacterial, antimycotic, antiparasitic, disinfect, and immunostimulant.pharmaceutical quality, ensuring safety, specific standards of purity, and consistency. These standards apply throughout the production and formulation process. This review describes the development of herbs that can be used as veterinary drugs with the possibility of dosage form technology. Veterinary dosage forms show great promise for the future of the herbal veterinary delivery system.Keywords: Veterinary drug, herbal medicine, dosage form, drug delivery.

Economic evaluation of pharmacists prescribing for minor ailments in Ontario, Canada: a cost-minimization analysis.

The objective of this study was to use a decision-analytic model to examine the potential economic impact of establishing a remunerated programme for pharmacists prescribing for minor ailments (PPMA) in Ontario, Canada. A novel decision tool was developed to assess the economic impact of pharmacists prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), contact dermatitis (CD) and conjunctivitis by performing a cost-minimization analysis from a public payer perspective. Two prescribing strategies were compared: (1) PPMA, where patients may seek care from pharmacists or physicians, and (2) the usual care model (UCM), where all patients receive care from physicians. Two remuneration models for the PPMA strategy were also compared: (1) a prescription-detached scenario (PDS), where pharmacists were remunerated CAD$18.00 for each consultation, and (2) a Prescription-Attached Scenario (PAS), where pharmacists were only remunerated if a decision to prescribe was made. At a service uptake rate of 38% for the PDS, the PPMA model led to savings of $7.51, $4.08 and $5.15 per patient for URTIs, CD and conjunctivitis, respectively. Per 30 000 patients, the PPMA model for these minor ailments was projected to lead to cumulative reductions in visits to the emergency department, family physician and walk-in clinics by 799, 3677 and 5090, respectively. The results of the study strongly suggest that enabling community pharmacists to assess and prescribe for minor ailments could potentially lead to large savings for the government in Ontario, Canada. In 100% of the PAS scenarios simulated, pharmacists as prescribers led to cost savings.

English

BACKGROUND Nurse educator has to do clinical teaching when students are posted either in clinical or community field. Clinical teaching is a method of teaching to an individual or group of students who came in contact with patients when they are posted in clinical or in community field. Clinical education enhances appropriate link between theory and practice and at the same time provides opportunity to have a practice on how to solve complex problems of health care, provide safe care and enhance critical thinking. The objectives of the study were to inform nursing undergraduate students regarding one-minute preceptor (OMP) model, assess perception level of experimental group of students regarding OMP and evaluate the improvement in clinical skills of nursing undergraduate students through one-minute preceptor teaching. METHODS Experimental research design was used. Probability sampling technique was used for the selection of nursing undergraduate students and random sampling method for formation of 2 groups of the students. Total 60 students participated. Likert scale was used to assess perception level and response of students. RESULTS In the present study, 70 % students had very good level of perception and (30 %) had excellent level of perception regarding OMP. Response regarding community posting mean score and standard deviation of both groups was 46.50 ± 2.46 and 35.60 ± 3.60 respectively. Comparison was done between the experimental and control group and P-value was P = 0.00. CONCLUSIONS OMP module is effective to improve clinical skill to manage minor ailments, to make decision and critical thinking at community setting. It can be implemented to the final year undergraduate nursing students and post graduate nursing students. KEY WORDS Effectiveness, One-Minute Preceptor, Clinical Skill

Exploring the independent prescribing role of the community pharmacists in Wales

Abstract Introduction Since 2019, the role of independent pharmacist prescribers (IPPs) in primary care has extended to community pharmacies in Wales [1]. This was in response to a Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee report in 2019 that outlined a plan to include an IPP in each community pharmacy in Wales by 2030. This aimed to relieve pressure on general practices, enhance patient care and reduce referral and admission rates to secondary care [2]. As funding was provided by the Government, the number of community pharmacists completing the independent prescribing course increased and many have implemented their prescribing role. Aim To explore the views of community IPPs regarding their prescribing role within community pharmacies in Wales. Methods Semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with community IPPs from all seven health boards (HBs) in Wales. Ethical approval was obtained from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Cardiff University and the School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering at Keele University. Purposive sampling was used to identify potential participants. Gatekeepers (HB community pharmacy leads and directors of IPP courses in Wales) sent invitation emails, participant information sheet and consent form to potential participants. Written consent was obtained. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed ad verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Thirteen community IPPs across Wales participated. Six themes were identified, including the utilisation of their role as community IPPs, their experiences with their independent prescribing training, motivation to obtain their prescribing qualification and utilise it, the impact, barriers and facilitators to implement and utilise their role. Participants practised as IPPs in the management of minor ailments and some other conditions, such as respiratory and sexual health. The course and training for community IPPs was helpful, but there was a need to focus more on therapeutic and clinical examination skills. The main impact of the role was that it helped to improve communication between community pharmacies and general practices and relieved some pressure on general practices. The main barriers were the lack of appropriate funding by the Government to develop the role, lack of access to patients’ medical records, lack of support and high workload. “One of the areas identified as high risk is for pharmacy prescribers is the lack of access to clinical records. How can you [as community IPPs] make any sensible decisions with half the information?” IPP6 Facilitators included that some services were already in place and the drive from the 2030 vision. Conclusion This is the first study that explored the views of community IPPs regarding their prescribing role in community pharmacies in Wales. It provided an insight into this new role that can be considered by the Welsh Government to achieve the 2030 vision for this role. A limitation to this study was that the role is still new in community pharmacies, which may affect the views of the community IPPs. Many of them have obtained their prescribing qualification but have not started to utilise it yet. Further work is needed to explore a wider population of community IPPs’ experiences as the role develops.

A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Self Instructional Module on Knowledge Regarding Management of Selected Minor Ailments of Preschool Children among Anganwadi Workers

Background: Child healthy development is an investment in the growth and prosperity of the country. Asan opportunity for the future, the value of maintaining child safety can not be overlooked. Most countries’advances have yielded nothing because this dimension was over-looked. An active and successful populationcannot develop from unhealthy children chronically affected by recurrent minor ailments.Objectives:1.To assess the knowledge regarding management of selected minor ailments of preschool children amongAnganwadi Workers.2. To assess the effectiveness of self instructional module on knowledge regardingmanagement of selected minor ailments of preschool children among Anganwadi Workers.3. To associatethe post test knowledge score with selected demographic variables. Materials and Method: This researchwas based on the design of Pre experimental one-group pre-test post-test study. This research examined 100anganwadi workers. This research has attempted at various centers in Anganwadi. The sampling techniqueused in this study was a sampling technique intended for non probability. The data were obtained usingstructured questionnaire. Results: In the post-test 1(1 percent) of the women had very good knowledge andonly 99(99 percent) of them had excellent knowledge score. The minimum score in the posttest was 20 andthe highest score was 25, the mean score for the posttest was 24.05±0.892 with an average percentage scoreof 96.2 percent. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the post-test workers at Anganwadi hadexcellent knowledge. The post-test score was significantly higher at 0.05 than the pre-test score. Thus it washypothesized that SIM as a teaching tool was found to be effective in addressing selected minor ailments.

The Practice of Home Visiting by Community Health Nurses as a Primary Healthcare Intervention in a Low-Income Rural Setting: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the Adaklu District of the Volta Region, Ghana.

Background Home visit is an integral component of Ghana's PHC delivery system. It is preventive and promotes health practice where health professionals render care to clients in their own environment and provide appropriate healthcare needs and social support services. This study describes the home visit practices in a rural district in the Volta Region of Ghana. Methodology. This descriptive cross-sectional study used 375 households and 11 community health nurses in the Adaklu district. Multistage sampling techniques were used to select 10 communities and study respondents using probability sampling methods. A pretested self-designed questionnaire and an interview guide for household members and community health nurses, respectively, were used for data collection. Quantitative data collected were coded, cleaned, and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences into descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analysed using the NVivo software. Thematic analysis was engaged that embraces three interrelated stages, namely, data reduction, data display, and data conclusion. Results Home visit is a routine responsibility of all CHNs. The factors that influence home visiting were community members' education and attitude, supervision challenges, lack of incentives and lack of basic logistics, uncooperative attitude, community inaccessibility, financial constraint, and limited number of staff. Household members (62.3%) indicated that health workers did not adequately attend to minor ailments as 78% benefited from the service and wished more activities could be added to the home visiting package (24.5%). Conclusion There should be tailored training of CHNs on home visits skills so that they could expand the scope of services that can be provided. Also, community-based health workers such as community health volunteers, traditional birth attendants, and community clinic attendants can also be trained to identify and address health problems in the homes.

A Study of Self- Medication Uses without a Prescription among Iraqi Patients in Baghdad City

Background: Medicines are those chemical compounds which consist of a single substance or more and areobtained through natural (plant or animal), as well as industrial methods, by chemical reactions that utilizedin the treatment of diseases that can infect human and animals or alleviate illness, prevention or diagnosing.Self-medication is the unwanted medical use of prescription and / or over-the-counter drugs. These practiceshave become an encouraging global form of self-care when it comes to minor ailments. Well it is not limitedto over-the-counter medicines. This also includes the use of prescription medications such as antibiotics.Objective: This study explores the extent of a widespread phenomenon of medicines usage without a doctorprescription, and studied the self-medication practices reasons among patients in the city of Baghdad.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted by questionnaires were distributed randomlyto 300 adults in different age group, sex and level of education at PHC in Baghdad city.Result: In this study, findings depict that the (34.3%) of study male participants are aged (30-39) years old.In regarding with education, thirty-four percent are primary school graduated and work a housewife residentin rural areas. Also, the (53 %), (12.3%) respectively take drugs in the last months for flu. The (64.7%) ofdrugs was prescribed by physician and (35.3%) of drug take without prescription because (16.3%) of themnot have access to physician care. The source of drugs supplies, the (31.7%) take it from others source and(38.3%) of information on the use of these drugs was obtained from physicians. The most common types ofdrugs used without prescription the result indicated that (39.0) was antibiotics and (53.3%) of sample notcommitment by dose, Reading instructions &amp; advertence with complication. Also the (73%) of sample don’tuses or depending upon herbs.Conclusion &amp; Recommendations: The continued use of medications without a prescription is an alarmingproblem in the country of Iraq. The prevalence of self-medication management is high in Middle Easterncountries and is often associated with inappropriate drug use. Therefore, it is necessary to understand therelationship between the various factors that favor the management of self-medication and to evaluate theevolving trends to help us develop strategies to reduce the health risks associated with drugs among thepeople of the Middle East.The recommendations included the imposition of regulatory measures that restrict access to prescriptionmedications only in countries where antibiotics are available over the counter. Another recommendation,which has emerged in several studies, is to improve the use of media campaigns to effectively guide publiceducation programs.

Pattern of diseases among Bangladeshi Hajj Pilgrimsin Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Background &amp; objective: Each year millions of Muslims embark on a religious pilgrimage called the “Hajj” to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The mass migration during the Hajj is unparalleled in scale, and pilgrims face numerous health hazards. Performing the tasks of pilgrimage is stressful and laborious and as such requires immense mental and physical fitness on the part of the pilgrims. But a substantial proportion of the pilgrims lack it. Besides, the hot and dry environment and untold overcrowding predispose them to the risk of many communicable diseases. The present study, was therefore, intended to find the pattern of diseases among Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims at Mecca, Saudi Arabia.&#x0D; Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on Bangladeshi Hazz pilgrims in Mecca Saudi Arabia over a period of 1 month from mid-September to mid-October, 2015. A total of 710 pilgrims (18 or &gt; 18 years) attending at Bangladeshi Hazz Medical Center (BHMC) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia during the period were consecutively included in the study after having voluntary verbal consent obtained from them. Diseases were diagnosed mainly on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms with provision of only random and fasting blood sugar estimation and ECG. The diagnosed diseases were grouped into major and minor problems or conditions and were treated as out-patient basis.&#x0D; Result: In the present study upper middle-aged (50 – 60 years) and elderly (≥ 60 years) pilgrims together formed nearly 73% of the patients with mean age of the patients being 56 years. Males were a bit higher than the females with male-female ratio being roughly 11:9. The study demonstrated that the commonest cause of out-patient visit was respiratory illness (41.2%) followed by diabetes (17.2%), peptic ulcer disease (PUD) (11.7%) and cardiovascular diseases (10.7%)(which included hypertension, new onset ischemia or exacerbation of preexisting ischemic heart diseases). A few (3.2%) of the patients presented with diarrhoeal diseases (loose motion or dysentery). Other minor ailments were allergy or dermatitis, insomnia, paronychia, anxiety, UTI, hemorrhoids, epistaxis, glossitis, oral ulcer, earache, conjunctivitis, worm infestation, spot bleeding etc., accounting for 4.8% of the patients.&#x0D; Conclusion: The study concluded that respiratory illness is the most common health problems among pilgrims visiting to Mecca, Saudi Arabia followed by diabetes, PUD and cardio-vascular diseases. The pilgrims should be educated in their home country before starting for pilgrimage as how to maintain their health in their new and challenging environment and Bangladesh Hazz Mission in Mecca should ensure enough medical support to them.&#x0D; Ibrahim Card Med J 2020; 10 (1&amp;2): 96-101

Patients\u2019 experiences of pharmacists in general practice: an exploratory qualitative study

BackgroundSince 2015, pharmacists have been integrating into English general practices and more recently into primary care networks. General practice-based pharmacists provide a range of patient-facing services, such as medication reviews, management of long-term conditions and minor ailments, prescribing duties and answering queries over the telephone. Literature reports patients’ satisfaction with general practice-based pharmacists’ services, however, previous research captured only limited experiences. The aim of the current study was to pursue an extensive exploration of patients’ experiences of pharmacists in general practice.MethodsGeneral practice-based pharmacists, working in practices in West London, Surrey and Berkshire, handed invitation packs to patients seen during consultations. Patients that wanted to take part in the study were invited to undertake a qualitative, in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interview within the practice with which each patient was registered. Interviews lasted from 15 min to more than 1 h and were audio-recorded. Recruitment continued until data saturation. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and transcripts analysed thematically.ResultsTwenty participants were interviewed. Four themes were discerned: awareness (“I had been coming to this practice for 24 years and I didn’t know that there was a pharmacist”); accessibility (“People ring for a GP [general practitioner] appointment … it’s Monday and they [receptionist] tells you ‘We can slot you in on Friday’ … with a pharmacist on board, they can [instantly] look at you”); interactions (“I’ve always had a really good interaction with them [pharmacists] and they listen and they take on board what I’m trying to say”); and feedback (“It’s easier [to collect feedback instantly] because I could have forgotten half of what they [pharmacists] have told me in an hour or so’s time”).ConclusionsFindings indicate that pharmacists’ integration into general practices could improve accessibility to, and the quality of, care received. The findings will assist policy development to provide general practice-based pharmacists’ services as per patients’ needs.

The Effect of Self-Care Training for Health Ambassadors on The Number of Doctor Appointment Due to The Treatment of Minor Ailments

The Effect of Self-Care Training for Health Ambassadors on The Number of Doctor Appointment Due to The Treatment of Minor Ailments