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How medicines sales staff is responding to presumptive COVID-19 patients attending drug retail outlets: An exploratory qualitative study.

ABSTRACT: The objective of this qualitative study was to explore how the medicine sales staff responded to presumptive COVID-19 patients in Pakistan. The data were obtained from the medicine sales staff working at drug retail outlets of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan, through in-depth face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. A two-step sampling strategy was used, including purposive and convenient sampling techniques. Sample size was determined by applying the saturation point criteria. A total of 17 interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the thematic analysis. Analysis of data yielded six themes and seven sub-themes. The themes included (1) knowledge about various aspects of COVID-19, (2) practices of sales staff in response to COVID-19 pandemic, (3) attitude of sales staff towards COVID-19 pandemic, (4) services offered to presumptive COVID-19 patients, (5) challenges encountered during pandemic and (6) suggestions to improve delivery of pharmacy services by sales staff. In Pakistan, non-pharmacist sales staff had superficial knowledge about COVID-19. Presumptive COVID-19 patients were provided with only basic pharmacy services. Professional training is advised among pharmacy sales staff as a short-term solution to improve their knowledge. As a long-term goal, the availability of pharmacists at drug retail outlets is warranted.

SUBMITTER: Atif M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8426854 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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How medicines sales staff is responding to presumptive COVID-19 patients attending drug retail outlets: An exploratory qualitative study.

Atif Muhammad M Ahmad Muhammad M Malik Iram I Mushtaq Irem I Ahmad Nafees N Mehjabin Babar Zaheer-Ud-Din ZU

The International journal of health planning and management 20210813 6

The objective of this qualitative study was to explore how the medicine sales staff responded to presumptive COVID-19 patients in Pakistan. The data were obtained from the medicine sales staff working at drug retail outlets of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan, through in-depth face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. A two-step sampling strategy was used, including purposive and convenient sampling techniques. Sample size was determined by applying the saturation point criter ...[more]

PMID: 34390010

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Project description:BackgroundAlcohol outlets have been associated with various forms of injury and may contribute to neighborhood disparities in drug overdose. Few studies have examined the associations between alcohol outlets and drug overdose. This study investigated whether alcohol outlets were associated with the neighborhood drug overdose rate and whether the sale of drug paraphernalia contributes to this association.MethodsA cross-sectional ecological spatial analysis was conducted within census block groups in Baltimore City (n = 653). Outcomes were counts of EMS calls for any drug overdose in 2015 (n = 3,856). Exposures of interest were counts of alcohol outlets licensed for off-premise and on-premise consumption and the proportion of off-premise outlets selling drug paraphernalia (e.g., blunt wrappers, baggies, pipes). Negative binomial regression was used to assess the relationship between outlet count and overdose rate, and if paraphernalia sales altered this relationship, controlling for other neighborhood factors. Spatial autocorrelation was assessed and regression inference adjusted accordingly.ResultsEach additional off-premise alcohol outlet was associated with a 16.6% increase in the neighborhood overdose rate (IRR=1.17, 95%CI=(1.11, 1.23)), adjusted for other neighborhood variables. On-premise alcohol outlets were not significantly associated with overdose rate when adjusting for off-premise alcohol outlets (IRR=1.01, 95% CI=(0.97, 1.06)). The proportion of off-premise outlets that sold drug paraphernalia was negatively associated with overdose rate (IRR=0.55, 95% CI=(0.41, 0.74)) and did not alter the relationship between off-premise outlets and overdose.ConclusionThis study provides preliminary public health evidence for informing policy decisions about alcohol outlet licensing and zoning. Alcohol outlets could be potential community partners for harm reduction strategies such as health communication in identifying overdose symptoms or Good Samaritan Laws.

Project description:ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to determine the availability and prices of medicines for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in health facilities and private for-profit drug outlets in Kenya.DesignCross-sectional study.MethodsAll public and non-profit health facilities in eight counties (Embu, Kakamega, Kwale, Makueni, Narok, Nyeri, Samburu and West Pokot) that purchased medicines from the Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies, a major wholesaler, were surveyed in September 2016. For each health facility, one nearby private for-profit drug outlet was also surveyed. Data on availability and price were analysed for 24 NCD and 8 acute medicine formulations. Availability was analysed separately for medicines in the national Essential Medicines List (EML) and those in the Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs). Median price ratios were estimated using the International Medical Products Price Guide as a reference.Results59 public and 78 non-profit facilities and 135 drug outlets were surveyed. Availability of NCD medicines was highest in private for-profit drug outlets (61.7% and 29.3% for medicines on the EML and STGs, respectively). Availability of STG medicines increased with increasing level of care of facilities: 16.1% at dispensaries to 31.7% at secondary referral facilities. The mean proportion of availability for NCD medicines listed in the STGs (0.25) was significantly lower than for acute medicines (0.61), p<0.0001. The proportion of public facilities giving medicines for free (0.47) was significantly higher than the proportion of private non-profit facilities giving medicines for free (0.09) (p<0.0001). The mean price ratio of NCD medicines was significantly higher than for acute medicines in non-profit facilities (4.1 vs 2.0, respectively; p=0.0076), and in private for-profit drug outlets (3.5 vs 1.7; p=0.0013).ConclusionPatients with NCDs in Kenya appear to have limited access to medicines. Increasing access should be a focus of efforts to achieve universal health coverage.

Project description:IntroductionSmoking and smoke exposure among pregnant women remain persistent public health issues. Recent estimates suggest that approximately one out of four nonsmokers have measurable levels of cotinine, a marker indicating regular exposure to secondhand smoke. Epidemiological research has attempted to pinpoint individual-level and neighborhood-level factors for smoking during pregnancy. However, most of these studies have relied upon self-reported measures of smoking.Aims and methodsTo more accurately assess smoke exposure resulting from both smoking and secondhand exposure in mothers during pregnancy, we used Bayesian regression models to estimate the association of cotinine levels with tobacco retail outlet (TRO) exposure and a neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) in six counties in North Carolina centered on Durham County.ResultsResults showed a significant positive association between TRO exposure (β = 0.008, 95% credible interval (CI) = [0.003, 0.013]) and log cotinine after adjusting for individual covariates (eg, age, race/ethnicity, education, marital status). TRO exposure was not significant after including the NDI, which was significantly associated with log cotinine (β = 0.143, 95% CI = [0.030, 0.267]). However, in a low cotinine stratum (indicating secondhand smoke exposure), TRO exposure was significantly associated with log cotinine (β = 0.005, 95% CI = [0.001, 0.009]), while in a high cotinine stratum (indicating active smoking), the NDI was significantly associated with log cotinine (β = 0.176, 95% CI = [0.005, 0.372]).ConclusionsIn summary, our findings add to the evidence that contextual factors are important for active smoking during pregnancy.ImplicationsIn this study, we found several significant associations that suggest a more nuanced understanding of the potential influence of environmental- and individual-level factors for levels of prenatal smoke exposure. Results suggested a significant positive association between TRO exposure and cotinine levels, after adjusting for the individual factors such as race, education, and marital status. Individually, NDI was similarly positively associated with cotinine levels as well. However, when combining TRO exposure alongside NDI in the same model, TROs were no longer significantly associated with overall cotinine levels.

Project description:IntroductionPatient counseling can ideally be providing medication information orally or in written form to patients or their attendants, and it helps to form a concordant approach on encouraging patient involvement in the pharmaceutical care process and to explore patient's knowledge and understanding. Lack of adequate knowledge on drugs and up-to-date drug information are the major factor that hinders counseling services. This study assessed counseling practice of pharmacy professionals in Mekelle City.MethodsA facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Professionals who volunteered to participate were involved. Self-administered questionnaires were used as data collecting tool to grasp professionals' practice on patient counseling, and the data were analyzed by using SPSS version 23. One-way analysis of variance and post hoc statistical tests were done to check for association between sociodemographic and other variables of counseling practice. In the statistical analyses, p-value of 0.05 and 95% confidence interval were considered.ResultsThe most frequent drug information given by the pharmacy professionals to clients were unit dose (65%), frequency of administration (79%), and duration of therapy (62%). Study participants claimed that lack of knowledge (37%), lack of updated drug information (49%), high patient load (62%), and absence of a private counseling room (51%) were the main factors that prohibit pharmacy professionals from counseling their patients. Those pharmacy professionals whose monthly income was <2000 Ethiopian Birr claimed lack of knowledge (p=0.007), limited access for updated drug information (p=0.009), and lack of experience (p=0.039) as factors for poor counseling practice. Results of the post hoc analysis showed significant difference among the participants with <5 and >10 years of experience in providing information on storage conditions and written materials with p-value of 0.025 and 0.016, respectively.ConclusionThis study proves that the level of satisfactory counseling is still very low compared to the expected practice. Lack of knowledge, lack of updated drug information, high patient load, absence of private counseling room, and underestimating the importance of counseling were identified as some of the factors that impede counseling services.

Project description:Background and aimsIn previous research, the spatial distribution of alcohol outlets has been shown to be related to the spatial distribution of crime. However, the spatial distribution of alcohol outlets is also related to the spatial distribution of other retail (and non-retail) activities. We measured whether a residual relationship between alcohol outlets and crime remains statistically significant after controlling for retail density.Design and settingA cross-sectional analysis of area unit data for Hamilton, New Zealand.MeasurementsWe constructed index measures of retail density using principal component analysis, based on counts of retail outlets (non-alcohol outlets alone and all outlets in total). We estimated the relationship between outlets and police calls-for-service using negative binomial regression, controlling for social deprivation, population and demographics. In our primary analysis, we employed a two-stage process that first accounted for the correlation between calls-for-service and retail density in a negative binomial regression model, then tested for correlation between alcohol outlet counts and the first-stage residuals.FindingsThe spatial distributions of retail outlets of all types were highly correlated with each other, and all types of retail outlets (alcohol and non-alcohol) were correlated with crime, after controlling for social deprivation, population and demographics. After controlling for index measures of retail density and other controls, statistically significant semipartial correlations remained with counts of alcohol outlets of all types. For example, in our preferred specification, which controlled for non-alcohol retail density in the first stage, an additional off-licence alcohol outlet was associated with 97.34 (95% confidence interval = 36.66-158.0) additional police calls-for service.ConclusionsThere is a positive relationship between the spatial distribution of alcohol outlets and the spatial distribution of crime that appears to persist even after controlling for non-alcohol retail density. The relationship between alcohol outlets and crime is not simply an artefact of retail geography.

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How medicines sales staff is responding to presumptive COVID-19 patients attending drug retail outlets: An exploratory qualitative study.

Publications

How medicines sales staff is responding to presumptive COVID-19 patients attending drug retail outlets: An exploratory qualitative study.

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