Assessment of diarrhea treatment and counseling in community pharmacies in Baghdad, Iraq: A simulated patient study

Autor: Ibrahim IR, Palaian S, Ibrahim MI.
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Pharmacy Practice, Vol 16, Iss 4, p 1313 (2018)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1885-642X
1886-3655
DOI: 10.18549/PharmPract.2018.04.1313
Popis: Background: Because community pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professionals, they are often involved in managing minor ailments within the community setting. Objective: This study evaluated the community pharmacists’ history taking practice, medicine dispensing and advice in response to acute diarrhea. Methods: Authors conducted a simulated-patient study in 75 community pharmacies in Baghdad, Iraq from February to May 2015. The female simulated-patient complained of acute diarrhea that had lasted for one day and requested for medicine to treat her condition. After exiting each pharmacy, she then assessed the practices of the community pharmacists through the use of a specially designed checklist adopted with modifications from relevant guidelines. For history taking, a maximum total of eight was the highest obtainable score. Data collected was quantitatively analyzed and Mann-Whitney, Chi-square or Fishers exact tests were used at an alpha level of 0.05. Results: All of the 75 pharmacies visited were managed by professionally qualified pharmacists. The most common questions asked during history taking were number of diarrheal episodes (n=62; 82.7%); duration of symptoms (n=59; 78.7%) and presence of other diseases and if any drug had been taken (n=58; 77.3%). Female pharmacists had a higher total mean score (6.45, SD=1.33) for history taking when compared to their male counterparts (4.34, SD=2.13); p
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