Appropriateness of gentamicin therapeutic drug monitoring at a Middle Eastern tertiary hospital setting: a retrospective evaluation and quality audit.

Introduction: The use of gentamicin in the treatment of infectious diseases requires frequent monitoring to attain the best treatment outcomes.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of gentamicin therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) at a tertiary care hospital in Qatar.

Methods: A one-year quantitative retrospective chart review of all gentamicin TDM records was conducted.

A Telehealth Module and Virtual Objective Structured Clinical Examination of Health Literacy in Pharmacy Education.

Objective: To implement an online health literacy (HL) module and evaluate its impact through virtual Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) on students' abilities to manage patients with low HL.

Methods: Students virtually engaged in several learning activities related to HL, including practicing using HL assessment tools, designing an information booklet suitable for low HL patients, using readability formulas to lower text readability level to ≤ sixth grade, role-playing scenarios related to HL, and undergoing a virtual OSCE. Student performance on course assessments was tested using Spearman's rank-order.

Pill-burden and its association with treatment burden among patients with advanced stages of chronic kidney disease.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with multimorbidity and high treatment burden. Pill-burden is one component of the overall treatment burden. However, little is known about its magnitude and contribution to the overall treatment burden among patients with advanced stages of CKD.

Evaluation of Health Literacy Levels and Associated Factors Among Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Heart Failure in Qatar.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of inadequate health literacy and its associated risk factors among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and/or heart failure (HF) in Qatar.

Patients And Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted among patients with ACS and/or HF attending the national Heart Hospital in Qatar. Health literacy was assessed using the abbreviated version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) and the Three-item Brief Health Literacy Screen (3-item BHLS).

Assessment of Qatar community pharmacists' competence and practices related to renal and gastrointestinal adverse effects of nonprescription NSAIDs.

Introduction: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently dispensed nonprescription drugs in community pharmacies. However, inappropriate use of NSAIDs by consumers has been associated with development of gastrointestinal (GI) injuries and renal injuries. Community pharmacists' education of consumers on proper use of NSAIDs and their associated adverse effects has been shown to reduce the GI and renal injuries.

Refugee healthcare needs and barriers to accessing healthcare services in New Zealand: a qualitative phenomenological approach.

Background: Refuges and asylum seekers have specific healthcare needs; however there has been insufficient attention and effort to address these needs globally. Furthermore, effective communication between healthcare providers and refugees remains poor, further widening the imbalanced power dynamics. The aim of this research project was to examine refugee healthcare needs and current barriers to accessing healthcare services in New Zealand, and to propose solutions by exploring the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions of key stakeholders regarding refugee healthcare needs within the scaffold of health and social care systems.

Pharmaceutical care education at pharmacy colleges in the Middle East and North Africa region: A systematic review.

What Is Known And Objective: New pharmacy curricula include content that equip students with a bundle of professional and interpersonal skills that allows the provision of evidence-based patient-centred pharmaceutical care (PC). PC has been adopted as a practise model underpinning these new roles for pharmacists in developed countries. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that countries in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region have been relatively slow in including PC in pharmacy education.

Microcredentials training in pharmacy practice and education: an exploratory study of its viability and pharmacists' professional needs.

Background: Microcredentials (MCs) are short courses that certify/recognise an individual's achievement of specific skills or knowledge. Schools of pharmacy could be well-placed to contribute to the continuing professional development (CPD) of pharmacists through the inclusion of MCs training in their programs. This study aimed to explore pharmacy professionals' views on the need and viability of MC courses globally.

Assessment of an intensive education program for pharmacists on treatment of tobacco use disorder using an objective structured clinical examination: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Tobacco use is one of the major public health threats globally. Community pharmacists are uniquely positioned to offer tobacco cessation services owing to their easy accessibility by the public. To prepare Qatar community pharmacists to develop the competencies and skills required to offer smoking cessation services, an intensive tobacco control education program was designed and implemented.

Exploring the Role of Community Pharmacists in Obesity and Weight Management in Qatar: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Introduction: Obesity is a major public health burden in Qatar. Pharmacists can play an important role in providing weight management services (WMSs). This study aimed to explore their attitudes, practice, perceived competence, and role in WMSs in Qatar.

A pharmacist-delivered smoking cessation program in Qatar: an exploration of pharmacists' and patients' perspectives of the program.

Background Tobacco use is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality. An intensive pharmacist-delivered smoking cessation program was implemented in eight primary care pharmacies in Qatar. Objective This study aimed to qualitatively explore the perspectives of pharmacists and patients regarding their experiences in the program and their recommendations for improving it.

Assessment of treatment burden and its impact on quality of life in dialysis-dependent and pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients.

Background: The management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its complications places a significant burden on patients, resulting in impairment of their health-related quality of life (HR-QOL). Little is known about treatment-related burden in pre-dialysis and hemodialysis (HD) CKD patients.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the magnitude of treatment-related burden and its impact on HR-QOL among patients with CKD.

Continuing Professional Development Needs of Community Pharmacists in Qatar: A Mixed-Methods Approach.

Objective: This study aims to assess the educational needs and professional competencies of community pharmacists in Qatar to inform the development of relevant continuing professional development (CPD) programs.

Methods: A mixed-methods cross-sectional exploratory study targeting community pharmacists was conducted using a questionnaire and an event diary. Descriptive and inferential analyses were utilized to analyze the data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS®) version 21 software.

Perspectives of Pharmacy Graduates Toward an Undergraduate Ethics Course and Its Potential Impact on Their Professional Practice.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to gauge the opinions and attitudes of pharmacy graduates toward an undergraduate ethics course they received and to explore if the ethics course was relevant to their practice.

Sample And Methods: This online questionnaire-based study involved pharmacy college graduates (alumni) who, at the time of the study, were practicing in different practice settings and who had all graduated from the same college of pharmacy in Qatar. An online questionnaire comprising 27 items related to attitudes, perceptions, and impact of the undergraduate ethics course on professional practice was distributed through email to all eligible alumni.

Evaluation of an intensive education program on the treatment of tobacco-use disorder for pharmacists: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Tobacco use is presently responsible for the death of over seven million people across the world. In Qatar, it is one of the main causes of premature deaths and preventable diseases. To reduce tobacco use, Qatar has ratified the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and has implemented many tobacco-control initiatives.

A qualitative exploration of barriers to medication adherence among patients with uncontrolled diabetes in Qatar: integrating perspectives of patients and health care providers.

Purpose: To develop an in-depth understanding of the barriers to medication adherence among patients with uncontrolled diabetes attending primary health care (PHC) centers in Qatar by exploring and integrating patients' and health care providers' perspectives.

Participants And Methods: A descriptive qualitative methodology was used in this study. A trained researcher conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews at two PHC centers.

Medication-Related Burden among Patients with Chronic Disease Conditions: Perspectives of Patients Attending Non-Communicable Disease Clinics in a Primary Healthcare Setting in Qatar.

This study aimed to assess perceived medication-related burden among patients with multiple non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and to investigate the association between perceived burden and adherence to medication therapy. Using a cross-sectional study in three primary care clinics in Qatar, medication-related burden was measured using the Living with Medicines Questionnaire (LMQ) among adults with diabetes, with or without other comorbidities. Adherence was measured using the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS).

Evaluation of community pharmacists' preparedness for the provision of cardiovascular disease risk assessment and management services: A study with simulated patients.

Background: Individuals who suffer from major cardiovascular events every year have one or more risk factors. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment is an important strategy for the early identification of modifiable risk factors and their management. There is substantial evidence that shifting the focus from treatment to primary prevention reduces the burden of CVD.

Correction to: Pharmacists' confidence when providing pharmaceutical care on anticoagulants, a multinational survey.

In the original publication of this article, the article note has been missed and published online.

Assessing prevalence of and barriers to medication adherence in patients with uncontrolled diabetes attending primary healthcare clinics in Qatar.

Background: Studies conducted in Qatar have reported a high prevalence of diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy. These complications are often associated with poor medication adherence and uncontrolled diabetes. The objectives of this study were to determine the rate of medication adherence among patients with uncontrolled diabetes, and to compare the characteristics and identified barriers between patients with good and those with poor medication adherence.

Pharmacists' confidence when providing pharmaceutical care on anticoagulants, a multinational survey.

Background Guidelines on the management of orally anticoagulated patients are continuously evolving, leading to an increased need for pharmacists to be fully integrated in care provision. Objective To identify self-reported gaps in confidence among practicing pharmacists in the area of anticoagulation. Setting Pharmacists in different work settings in different countries.

Synthesizing and Appraising the Quality of the Evidence on Factors Associated with Medication Adherence in Diabetes: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.

Background: Nonadherence to medications is a common phenomenon in patients with diabetes. Several studies and systematic reviews have investigated the barriers to medication adherence in diabetes. However, no study has evaluated the quality of the existing literature and synthesized the plethora of evidence with a goal to design holistic conceptual frameworks and interventions.

Can Source Triangulation Be Used to Overcome Limitations of Self-Assessments? Assessing Educational Needs and Professional Competence of Pharmacists Practicing in Qatar.

Introduction: Continuing professional development activities should be designed to meet the identified personal goals of the learner. This article aims to explore the self-perceived competency levels and the professional educational needs of pharmacists in Qatar and to compare these with observations of pharmacy students undergoing experiential training in pharmacies (students) and pharmacy academics, directors, and managers (managers).

Methods: Three questionnaires were developed and administered to practicing pharmacists, undergraduate pharmacy students who have performed structured experiential training rotations in multiple pharmacy outlets in Qatar and pharmacy managers.

A holistic conceptual framework model to describe medication adherence in and guide interventions in diabetes mellitus.

Background: Nonadherence to medications in patients with diabetes, which results in poor treatment outcomes and increased healthcare costs, is commonly reported globally. Factors associated with medication adherence have also been widely studied. However, a clear and comprehensive, disease-specific conceptual framework model that captures all possible factors has not been established.