Community Pharmacists' Views on Their Roles in Mental Health Screening and Management in Malaysia.

Community pharmacists (CPs) are vital as primary healthcare providers, particularly in the screening and management of mental health issues. This study aimed to explore CPs' views on mental health support for patients and the potential challenges in delivering mental health services. Malaysian CPs were recruited through purposive and snowballing sampling.

Digitalization enhancement in the pharmaceutical supply network using a supply chain risk management approach.

One major issue in pharmaceutical supply chain management is the supply shortage, and determining the root causes of medicine shortages necessitates an in-depth investigation. The concept of risk management is proposed in this study to identify significant risk factors in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Fuzzy failure mode and effect analysis and data envelopment analysis were used to evaluate the risks of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Using COM-B model in identifying facilitators, barriers and needs of community pharmacists in implementing weight management services in Malaysia: a qualitative study.

Background: Previous qualitative studies exploring the experiences of community pharmacists (CP) in implementing weight management services (WMS) often lack a theoretical underpinning. This study applied the capability, opportunity, motivation, behaviour (COM-B) model to factors associated with WMS implementation among CPs to develop and recommend better intervention strategies.

Methods: A qualitative study design was used by conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews with CPs.

Healthcare provider person-centred practice: relationships between prerequisites, care environment and care processes using structural equation modelling.

Background: The translation of person-centred care concepts into practice requires fulfilment of necessary components, including person-centred values and practice held by the employees and having a supportive system. The objectives of this study were multifold: firstly, to evaluate the measurement model, secondly, to examine the roles of prerequisite or attributes of healthcare providers and care environment and how they affect delivery of person-centred processes; and finally, to examine the mediating effect of care environment towards the relationship between prerequisite and care processes.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among healthcare providers working in primary care facilities in a state in Malaysia.

The Use of Building Blocks to Teach Communication and Social Skills to First-year Pharmacy Students.

To conduct an innovative workshop activity using plastic building blocks to create a student-centric environment that encouraged development of creative thinking skills and self-reflection in undergraduate pharmacy students. Students were randomly allocated into small groups of four and assigned the role of either architect or team builder and tasked with creating a LEGO robot. Students were not allowed to speak during the activity.

Cross-cultural adaptation and exploratory factor analysis of the Person-centred Practice Inventory - Staff (PCPI-S) questionnaire among Malaysian primary healthcare providers.

Background: The Person-centred Practice Inventory-Staff (PCPI-S) instrument was developed to measure healthcare providers' perception towards their person-centred practice. The study aimed to explore the influence of culture, context, language and local practice towards the PCPI-S instrument adaptation process for use among public primary care healthcare providers in Malaysia.

Methods: The original PCPI-S was reviewed and adapted for cultural suitability by an expert committee to ensure conceptual and item equivalence.

Protocol for a cross-sectional study measuring person-centredness among healthcare providers in Malaysian primary care clinics: the adaptation and validation of the Person-Centred Practice Inventory-Staff (PCPI-S) Questionnaire.

Introduction: Person-centred care (PCC) has become a global movement in healthcare. Despite this, the level of PCC is not routinely assessed in clinical practice. This protocol describes the adaptation and validation of the Person-Centred Practice Inventory-Staff (PCPI-S) tool that will be used to assess person-centred practices of primary healthcare providers in Malaysia.

Perceptions and attitudes towards dementia among university students in Malaysia.

Background: One of the major challenges worldwide is the stigma associated with dementia. There is limited dementia awareness within Malaysian communities, including levels of confusion regarding the differences between dementia and the usual ageing progress, which can lead to delays in support seeking. The need for additional training and education for healthcare professionals has been highlighted.

A training workshop for community pharmacist workforce: Caring for older adults.

Background And Purpose: The increasing number of older adults worldwide challenges healthcare providers and policy makers to provide high quality care. To our knowledge, there has been little research on educational programs for community pharmacists on the provision of pharmaceutical care-based educational programs for elderly people, especially in Asian regions. The purpose of this study was to develop and describe the implementation of a structured educational program on geriatric care for community pharmacists.

Influencing factors and processes of interprofessional professional education (IPE) implementation.

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) is an instructional approach for equipping health professions students with essential competencies needed to provide collaborative patient-centred care. The implementation and sustainability of IPE are challenging for many institutions. This qualitative study identified barriers and facilitators in the processes of IPE implementation.

Attitudes towards deprescribing among multi-ethnic community-dwelling older patients and caregivers in Malaysia: a cross-sectional questionnaire study. A Comment.

Understanding older adult and caregiver attitudes towards deprescribing will contribute to medication optimization in clinical practice. The objectives of this study were to explore quantitatively the attitudes and beliefs of older adults and caregivers towards deprescribing and identify participant characteristics that were associated with willingness to have a medication deprescribed. This study was conducted in a government-led primary care health clinic and three private community pharmacies in Malaysia with older adults and caregivers of older adults.

Prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications among geriatric residents in nursing care homes in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study.

Background Polypharmacy has been associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality among older adults especially those living in nursing homes. Explicit criteria to evaluate the appropriateness of medications have recently been updated. Objective To estimate and compare the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) among older adults in nursing homes using screening tool for older people's prescription (STOPP-2) and the 2015 Beers criteria.

Attitudes towards deprescribing among multi-ethnic community-dwelling older patients and caregivers in Malaysia: a cross-sectional questionnaire study.

Background Deprescribing describes a process of medication regimen optimization with the aim to reduce adverse events and improve quality of life. There is limited research on perceptions of older adults, defined as those 60 years of age and older, about their willingness to cease a medication in developing countries. Objective To ascertain patients' attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and experiences regarding the number of medications they were taking and their opinions regarding deprescribing.

A practical approach toward teaching ethics to community pharmacists.

Background Pharmacists as highly qualified professionals face ethical dilemmas and conflicts in their daily practice. These issues manifest themselves in the daily practice of pharmacists, which require pharmacists to have the competencies to manage these dilemmas but there is limited formal training in ethical decision making during undergraduate pharmacy education. Objective To describe the implementation and evaluation of a methodological approach to managing ethical dilemma workshop for community pharmacists in Malaysia.

Factors influencing intention to obtain the HPV vaccine in South East Asian and Western Pacific regions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Since licensing in 2006, there has been poor uptake of the HPV vaccine among the targeted population in the South East Asia Region (SEAR) and Western Pacific Region (WPR). A systematic review was conducted to identify the studies exploring the relationship between factors and intention for HPV vaccination among women in SEAR and WPR countries. Nineteen studies were identified as suitable for qualitative synthesis, and three as suitable for meta-analysis.

A qualitative study on pharmacists' perception on integrating pharmacists into private general practitioner's clinics in Malaysia.

Background: Private general practitioners in Malaysia largely operates as solo practices - prescribing and supplying medications to patients directly from their clinics, thus posing risk of medication-related problems to consumers. A pharmacy practice reform that integrates pharmacists into primary healthcare clinics can be a potential initiative to promote quality use of medication. This model of care is a novel approach in Malaysia and research in the local context is required, especially from the perspectives of pharmacists.

Health care consumers' perspectives on pharmacist integration into private general practitioner clinics in Malaysia: a qualitative study.

Background: Pharmacists are considered medication experts but are underutilized and exist mainly at the periphery of the Malaysian primary health care team. Private general practitioners (GPs) in Malaysia are granted rights under the Poison Act 1952 to prescribe and dispense medications at their primary care clinics. As most consumers obtain their medications from their GPs, community pharmacists' involvement in ensuring safe use of medicines is limited.