Introduction: Although it is discouraged, community pharmacy customers can obtain oral corticosteroids (OCSs) without prescriptions from some community pharmacies in Iraq. Medication abuse is defined as the use of medication for non-medical reasons. Objectives: The study aimed to determine demographics, beliefs, and perceptions associated with the abuse of oral corticosteroids for non-illness reasons among community pharmacy customers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in fall 2018 in four provinces in Iraq. Customers of 19 community pharmacies asking for OCSs for themselves without a prescription were administered a paper survey. This study used the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to measure the relationship between the motivational factors and the abuse of OCSs. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationships between the use of OCSs for non-illness and six TRA factors: Normative belief, behavioral belief, evaluation of the behavior, motivation to comply, subjective norms and attitude toward behavior. Results: The study enrolled 141 participants (98 women and 43 men) taking asking for OCSs without prescription. Dexamethasone was the most commonly used OCSs (59.6%). Friends were the primary recommenders for corticosteroids abuse (28.4%). The main reasons for using OCSs were to increase appetite and gain weight (53.9 %). Approximately one-third (36.2 %) of the participants gained weight after using OCSs. The regression analysis of the TRA variables showed two factors were significantly related to the abuse of OCSs. Age had a significant inverse relationship with the abuse of OCSs and the "good appearance" belief had a significant positive association with OCS abuse. Conclusion: Some Iraqi community pharmacy customers use non-prescribed oral corticosteroids to increase appetite and gain weight. Improve body appearance represents the dominant incentive that urges people to use OCSs without prescription. Health officials and healthcare practitioners need to promote people's awareness about the risks of misusing OCSs through education programs and advertisements in public health settings, media, and social media. Article Type: Original Research
There are obstacles to high levels of hypertension awareness that are embedded in gender, income and lifestyle habits which need to be addressed leading to high levels of undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension. This study aimed to explore the various factors which affect hypertension awareness among a hypertensive population in a tertiary care hospital.
A quantitative study was conducted among hypertensive patients at a tertiary care hospital in Selangor, Malaysia. A validated and translated questionnaire was utilised as a data collection tool. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 25.
A thousand participants (female n=621, male n= 379) were recruited, and their
... Show MoreEvery body has a size and mass that distinguishes it from others and makes it different from others. Some of these bodies are huge and large in size, and some are small and light in weight. Among these masses and bodies are some that are dealt with by their size and weight, each according to its quantity, weight, and cheapness. This is why they created quantities by which these weights and quantities could be estimated, so they used measures and weights for that. Objectives: The research aims to know some measures and weights, such as the wife’s maintenance, the amount of zakat, etc.I found it to be a widely spread topic, and widely used in the folds of jurisprudence. During my reading of jurisprudence books, I found jurists using many qu
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Prescribing drugs to patients to treat ailments or reducing their morbidity may not be enough, even if the drugs were all indicated and in the right dose. Clinical pharmacists play a pivotal role in conducting information and instruction to patients and conveying feedback to treating physician when appropriate, and the final goal is in the interest of the patient. Identification and classification of drug related problems and discussing them with the health care providers. Prospective, interventional, clinical study for 180 hemodialysis patients, and was designed as two phases, an observational phase to identify drug related problems and classifying them according to the latest Pharmaceutical
... Show MoreBackground: Squamous cell carcinoma is a disease of elderly peopleand it is uncommon in people with less than 40 years old; however many literatures revealed that tumor developing in patients younger than forty years appears more aggressive at the time of diagnosis. The purpose of the present study was to focus on the clincopathological features of the oral SCC in different age groups. Material and methods: In this study thirty five cases of paraffin embedded tissue blocks of oral squamous cell carcinoma were studied. The age range was from 16 to 80 years. The clinicopathological data were recorded for evaluating the tumor characters according to age of patients. Results : The age was not significantly correlated to the clinicopathological
... Show MoreThis study was concerned with using ozone gas in drinking water treatment plant at Ibn-Sina Company. The main purpose of this research is to find the best contactor for ozone unit proposed. An investigation was conducted to study the absorption of ozone by water in two type of absorber. The effects of the process variables (such as height of water column, contact time, and pH) on the amount of ozone absorbed were investigated. Box-Wilson central composite rotatable design is used to design the experimental work for the mentioned variables. It was found that the optimum value of the variables studied was:
i) Height of water column (90 cm)
ii) Contact time (17-18 min)
iii) PH (7 - 7.5)
An experiment was carried out in the vegetables field of Horticulture Department / College of Agriculture / Baghdad University , for the three seasons : spring and Autumn of 2005 , and spring of 2007 , to study the type of gene action in some traits of yield and its components in summer squash crosses (4 x 3 = cross 1 , 3 x 7 = cross 2 , 3 x 4 = cross 3 , 3 x 5 = cross 4 , 5 x 1 = cross 5 , 5 x 2 = cross 6). The study followed generation mean analysis method which included to each cross (P1 , P2 , F1 , F2 , Bc1P1 , Bc1P2) , and those populations obtained by hybridization during the first and second seasons. Experimental comparison was performed in the second (Two crosses only) and third seasons , (four crosses) by using RCBD with three repl
... Show MoreThe bound radial wave functions of Cosh potential which are the solutions to the radial part of Schrodinger equation are solved numerically and used to compute the size radii; i.e., the root-mean square proton, neutron, charge and matter radii, ground density distributions and elastic electron scattering charge form factors for nitrogen isotopes 14,16,18,20,22N. The parameters of such potential for the isotopes under study have been opted so as to regenerate the experimental last single nucleon binding energies on Fermi's level and available experimental size radii as well.
Background: Teachers are considered as dynamic force who take a pivotal position in any educational system. Since they may play a significant role in passing the preventive information and health promotion, it is important that their own oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices conform to the professional recommendations. The aim of this study was to evaluate oral health knowledge, attitude and practices among kindergarten teachers, and their impact on teachers’ oral health condition in Al-Rusafa Sector, Baghdad, Iraq. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 80 kindergarten teachers. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among these teach¬ers. This questionnaire format contains two
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