Due to the shortage of literature related to the safe use of over‐the‐counter (OTC) products by patients worldwide, the aim of this study was to evaluate people's knowledge and attitudes regarding the use of OTC products in Jordan. Using an internet‐based questionnaire mainly spread through social media platforms, a descriptive cross‐sectional study was conducted with Jordanian candidates who consume OTC products. A total of 274 OTC product users answered the survey questions. The results showed that analgesics were the most commonly used OTC products among the participants (50.4%). The majority used the OTC products only as needed rather than on a regular basis. Only 42.4% of the participants sought a pharmacist's help in determining the dose of the OTC medicine. Most of the participants were very interested in reading a patient information leaflet (80.3%) and the side effects and contraindications (89.5%). The majority of participants agreed that antibiotics have to be prescribed (68.5%), and anti‐allergy medications should not be used as sleep aid medications (75.0%). About 53.4% thought that OTCs are sometimes enough to treat their health conditions without the need to follow‐up with a physician. A chi‐square analysis showed an association between gender, age, educational level and having a family member in the medical field and OTC products knowledge among Jordanians. Females, for example, were more interested in reading leaflet, checking production and expiry dates, knowing adverse effects, and appropriate storage conditions (P < .001, 0.022, 0.003, 0.007, respectively). We concluded that a good level of knowledge on the use of OTC products among the study population was identified in the present study.
Background and Objectives: Miscarriage is a complication that is influenced by many risk factors that have been reported in different studies and that vary among countries. Despite the influence of various known risk factors for miscarriage, 30% to 50% of miscarriages are from unidentified causes. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of miscarriages in Jordan and the associated risk factors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Jordan among married women to investigate the prevalence of miscarriages and identify potential risk factors. Results: Women (n = 704) were surveyed, and 17.9% reported a history of miscarriage. The identified risk factors were being an active smoker during pregnancy, having more than four children, having a family history of miscarriage, having fertility problems, receiving medical assistance for conception, and traveling by air during pregnancy. Conclusions: The results suggest that there are both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for miscarriages in Jordan and that a proportion of these may be preventable. The findings can be used to enhance patient awareness and inform policy development to decrease the incidence of miscarriage in the country.
25 March 2023 in Jordan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Objectives: Pharmacists’ responsibilities have become more patient-oriented so exploring patients’ satisfaction would lead to identifying and improving the quality of pharmaceutical services. The aim of the present study was to assess patients’ satisfaction with pharmaceutical services in Jordan Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2018 and April 2019. Patients’ satisfaction was assessed using three subscales; managing therapy, interpersonal relationship, and general satisfaction, in addition, to the socio-demographic questionnaire. Participants were asked about the degree of their satisfaction with the pharmaceutical services in all subscales’ questions using a 5-point Likert scale. Results: A total of 1,333 patients participated in the study. The mean patient age was 32.4 years (SD = 11.6)52.5% (n = 700) were female. Patients had a good satisfaction score for overall pharmaceutical services with a mean score of 51.4 ± 11.4 out of 70. Among the subscales, the interpersonal relationship subscale showed a satisfaction score of 75.7% while the other two subscales (general satisfaction and managing therapy) showed slightly lower scores with 75.0% and 69.6%, respectively. Having good health and governmental or military health insurance, visiting the pharmacy more frequently, and dispensing medications from governmental hospitals, primary healthcare centers, or military hospital pharmacies were important predictors of better patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study presents some nationwide patient-reported outcomes about patient satisfaction in general pharmacy settings in Jordan. Focusing on patients’ satisfaction while providing pharmaceutical services is needed.
Addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) stands as a major global health challenge threatening humanity. Resolving this issue can be initiated through emphasizing the significance of AMR education among students in health colleges during their undergraduate studies. Hence, the aim of this study is to assess the pharmacy students’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding antibiotic resistance in 7 Middle Eastern countries. A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate pharmacy students at universities in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait between March 2021 and January 2022. The first section of the questionnaire gathered demographic information. The knowledge section comprised 7 questions. Subsequently, the questionnaire explored participants’ attitudes (6 items) and practices (2 items) concerning antibiotic resistance. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compare the median knowledge score between different demographic groups. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for being more knowledgeable about antibiotic resistance. A 2-sided P < .05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 4265 pharmacy students were involved in this study (Egypt (2249), Jordan (n = 704), Saudi Arabia (n = 531), Lebanon (n = 401), United Araba Emirates (n = 130), Qatar (n = 129), and Kuwait (n = 121)). The median knowledge score for the participating pharmacy students was 5.00 (IQR = 4.00–6.00) out of 7, equals to 71.4% with 4th, and 5th year students and bachelor of pharmacy program students have higher odds of being more knowledgeable about antibiotics resistance compared to other students (P < .05). The majority of the students agreed that antibiotic resistance is increasing, they should be more concerned regarding antibiotic consumption and that government should create more awareness of antibiotic resistance, and that they should have enough knowledge to prevent antibiotic resistance. Around 3 quarters of the students (73.0%) confirmed that they take antibiotic only after getting prescription from their physician and almost half (51.7%) reported that they take antibiotic to manage their fever. The study concluded good educational programs in Middle East pharmacy schools with the need for targeted educational interventions promoting responsible antibiotic stewardship practices among future pharmacists.
7 March 2019 in British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
Aims: The aim of this study was, to use a multiple methods approach, including, for the first time, dried blood spot (DBS) sampling with population pharmacokinetic interpretation, to assess adherence to mycophenolate in children with kidney transplant. A second aim was to identify patient/parental factors that influenced adherence and to link adherence behaviour to clinical outcomes.Methods: A convenience sample of 33 children with kidney transplant (age ≤ 18 years) who had been prescribed mycophenolate for at least 3 months were recruited from participating outpatient clinics in the UK and Jordan. Medication adherence was determined via self‐report questionnaires, medication refill data from dispensing records, and via mycophenolic acid concentrations in plasma and DBS samples obtained from children during a clinic visit.Results: Through triangulation of results from the different methodological approaches a total of 12 children (36.4%) were deemed to be nonadherent with their prescribed mycophenolate treatment. Logistic regression analysis indicated that nonadherence was significantly associated with the presence of mycophenolate side effects. Poor adherence was positively linked to measures of poor clinical outcomes (hospitalisation and the need for kidney biopsy).Conclusions: Despite the imperative regarding medication adherence to help prevent organ rejection, a significant proportion of children are not fully adherent with their therapy. Side‐effects appear to be an important factor leading to nonadherence. Measurement of mycophenolate in DBS samples, coupled with the use of population pharmacokinetics modelling, was a convenient direct approach to assessing adherence in children with kidney transplant and has the potential to be introduced into routine practice.
14 March 2021 in International Journal of Social Psychiatry
Background: The magnitude of postpartum depression in Jordan is under documented, and little is known about its potential sociodemographic and clinical correlates. Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence and risk factors associated with postpartum depression among Jordanian mothers in the first 18 months after delivery. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from April to June 2020 in Jordan. A web-based survey was used for recruiting eligible participants. An Arabic version of the validated self-administered Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale questionnaire was used to measure postpartum depression with a cut-off score of ⩾12 which indicates probable depression. Results: A total of 1,071 Jordanian women participated in the study. Of those, 567 women had postpartum depression (52.9%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that postpartum depression was significantly associated with marital conflict (OR: 4.91; 95% CI: 2.36–10.20), negative attitude from the pregnancy (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.45–0.99), unplanned pregnancies (OR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.16–2.60), lack of social support (OR: 1.93; 95% CI: 1.12–3.32), time from last delivery (OR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.98–1.00), insomnia (OR: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.35–0.82), and depression during the pregnancy (OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.33–0.78). Most of the participants (65.7%) sought social support to avoid, reduce, or treat postpartum depression. Conclusions: Postpartum depression among Jordanian women was the highest in comparison to that of women in other countries in the region. Therefore, screening for the presence of depressive symptoms should be implemented during regular pregnancy care visits. Social support should be encouraged in order to avoid, reduce, or treat postpartum depression.