Would Pharmacy Students Advocate Green Pharmacy Given Their Preference for Medicines With Environmental Impact?

Objective: To investigate the preferences among university students in Gothenburg, Sweden for medicines that have a different environmental impact with respect to effect and explore to what extent having received information about pharmaceuticals' potential harm to the environment is associated with the stated preferences.

Methods: A survey was conducted among students in different study programs at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In all, 704 students received oral and written information about the study at the end of a lecture and were invited to take part (response rate: 83.

Intra-Individual Variability in Self-Reported Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Medicines Depending on Mode of Data Collection - Observations from the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Background: Self-report by questionnaire is one of the main methods to collect data on drug utilization. There are several modes of data collection by questionnaire, differing in the way of delivering the questionnaire to respondents and in the administration of the questions, both influencing the recall and participation rates. The aim of this study was to compare different modes of data collection for self-reported use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) and analgesic medicines.

Generic versus brand-name over-the-counter analgesics: knowledge and attitudes among Swedish pharmacy customers.

Background: Due to a liberalisation reform in 2009, the availability of over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics has increased significantly in the Swedish market over the past decade. With the increasing number of generic products available on the market and the possibility of buying OTC drugs from non-pharmacy outlets, a key to safe drug use is that consumers possess the necessary knowledge to differentiate between the different brands and choose the appropriate drug for their ailments. The aim of this study was to investigate Swedish consumers' knowledge of and attitudes towards generic OTC analgesics.

"I did not know it was so important to take it the whole time" - self-reported barriers to medical treatment among individuals with asthma.

Background: Asthma is an extensive public health problem and inadequate disease control is not uncommon. Individuals' self-perceived barriers to medical treatment for the entire treatment chain (from seeking care for symptoms to using a medicine) have seldom been studied for chronic diseases such as asthma. The aim of this study was to explore self-perceived barriers to medical treatment among individuals with asthma within the framework of AAAQ (availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality).

Experiences of Kurdish immigrants with the management of type 2 diabetes: a qualitative study from Norway.

To explore the experiences of immigrant Kurdish patients in Oslo, Norway, related to the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A qualitative study with focus group interviews. Participants were recruited at meeting places in Oslo through Kurdish networks.

Multiple challenges of antibiotic use in a large hospital in Ethiopia - a ward-specific study showing high rates of hospital-acquired infections and ineffective prophylaxis.

Background: This project aims to study the use of antibiotics in three clinical wards in the largest tertiary teaching hospital in Ethiopia for a period of 1 year. The specific aims were to assess the prevalence of patients on antibiotics, quantify the antibiotic consumption and identify the main indications of use.

Method: The material was all the medical charts (n = 2231) retrieved from three clinical wards (internal medicine, gynecology/obstetrics and surgery) in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) in Addis Ababa between September 2013 and September 2014.

Attitudes towards sales and use of over-the-counter drugs in Sweden in a reregulated pharmacy market: a population-based study.

Objectives: To analyse attitudes towards sales and use of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in the Swedish adult population.

Methods: Data were collected through the web-based Citizen Panel comprising 21 000 Swedes. A stratified sample of 4058 participants was emailed a survey invitation.

Challenges in the management of Type 2 Diabetes among native women in the United Arab Emirates.

Aim: To investigate Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management in native female patients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methods: Ninety women from the outpatient diabetes clinic at Tawam Hospital, UAE, were interviewed face-to-face about how they manage their disease, using a structured questionnaire. Clinical values of the patients were extracted from medical records.

Living with Diabetes: Personal Interviews with Pakistani Women in Norway.

The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) among Pakistani women in Norway is remarkably high. This study aims to assess how they live with the disease and their response to lifestyle and medical information. 120 Pakistani women living in Norway (mean age: 55.

Consumer preferences for over-the-counter drug retailers in the reregulated Swedish pharmacy market.

Following a large regulatory reform in 2009, which ended the state's pharmacy monopoly, non-pharmacy retailers in Sweden today sell certain over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate consumer preferences regarding OTC drug retailers and the reasons for choosing a pharmacy versus non-pharmacy retailer. We conducted a web survey aimed at Swedish adults.

A Systematic Review of Physicians' and Pharmacists' Perspectives on Generic Drug Use: What are the Global Challenges?

Background And Objectives: Generic substitution has been introduced in most countries in order to reduce costs and improve access to drugs. However, regulations and the generic drugs available vary between countries. It is the prescriber or dispenser of the drug who is the final decision maker.

Norwegian elderly patients' need for drug information and attitudes towards medication use reviews in community pharmacies.

Objectives: Medication use review (MUR) is a community pharmacy service in several countries. Knowledge about what patients want from such a service is limited. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate Norwegian elderly patients' need for drug information and their attitudes towards MURs.

'Because of the circumstances, we cannot develop our role': Norwegian community pharmacists' perceived responsibility in role development.

Objective: The development of more patient-centred care is not always visible in community pharmacies. The aim of this study was to explore Norwegian pharmacists' motivation and perceived responsibility regarding role development and involvement in patient-centred care.

Methods: A semi-structured interview guide was developed.

Cultural barriers encountered by Norwegian community pharmacists in providing service to non-Western immigrant patients.

Background: Western societies' need for knowledge about how to meet the challenges in health care following increased immigration has emerged as studies have showed that non-Western immigrants tend to experience more obstacles to drug use and poorer communication with health professionals.

Objectives: To identify the cultural barriers encountered by Norwegian community pharmacists in providing service to non-Western immigrant patients and to outline how they are being addressed.

Setting: Community pharmacies in Oslo, Norway.

Cultural influences on medicine use among first-generation Pakistani immigrants in Norway.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore medicine use among first-generation immigrants from Pakistan who had been residing in Norway 10 years or more, with emphasis on cultural influences, language proficiency, and sociodemographic variables.

Methods: Personal interviews with 82 first-generation Pakistani immigrants (40-80 years) were conducted primarily in the participant's home using a semistructured questionnaire. The participants were users of antihypertensives, and/or antidiabetics, and/or cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Special challenges for drug adherence following generic substitution in Pakistani immigrants living in Norway.

Purpose: This study aims to explore how long-term drug users with a Pakistani background living in Oslo (Norway) perceive generic substitution and how generic substitution influences drug adherence in this population.

Methods: Personal interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire were carried out with 83 Pakistani immigrants (aged 40-80 years) who were using antihypertensives, antidiabetics, and/or cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Results: In all, 73% of the participants were using generic drugs at the time of the interview.

Generic substitution: a potential risk factor for medication errors in hospitals.

Introduction: Efforts to restrain pharmaceutical costs in the Norwegian hospital sector have focused on putting pharmaceuticals out to tender with resultant frequent changes in medicine inventories. Due to the extent of physicians failing to prescribe from the hospital drug list, the nurses have to perform generic substitution on the wards. The objective of the present study is to investigate the hospital nurses' experiences with generic substitution and to explore their views on this strategy as a risk factor for medication errors.

Generic substitution: additional challenge for adherence in hypertensive patients?

Objective: This study aims to investigate whether, and in what way, generic substitution affects drug adherence in hypertensive patients.

Methods: Personal interviews with 174 Norwegian patients (50-80 years) who had had their brand-name antihypertensive drug generically substituted were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire.

Results: On average, 4.

Price control as a strategy for pharmaceutical cost containment - what has been achieved in Norway in the period 1994-2004?

Objectives: To describe and evaluate the different price control strategies implemented in Norway after its accession to the European Economic Area (1994-2004).

Methods: Interviews with ten key persons who had broad insight into the field in question were held. All the available literature was reviewed.