Background: Community pharmacists endure significantly elevated levels of work-related stress and depression, posing a threat to their overall well-being and possibly affecting the quality of patient care. Objectives: To explore workplace-associated stress and depression in Iraqi community pharmacists. Methods: This observational study was conducted using a cross-sectional design. Information was gathered through the utilization of an internet-based survey. The study involved a community pharmacist with a minimum of one year of experience working at community pharmacies. The survey utilized pre-validated questionnaires. The level of stress experienced was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)-10, while the level of depression was assessed using the Patient's Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9. Results: The study included a total of 251 community pharmacists, with the majority being female (62.2%). The average score of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)-10 is 21±5.86, suggesting that perceived stress levels are generally moderate to low. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 results showed that the average total scores for the individuals were 10.41±4.801, indicating a moderate state of depression. The only characteristic that is adversely linked to work-related stress in community pharmacy is the age of community pharmacists. In addition, there is a negative association between age, work experience, educational level, and the level of depression. Conclusions: Community pharmacists are experiencing a moderate amount of perceived stress along with moderate depression symptoms. The current study found that age was inversely connected with both stress and depression, meaning that as age increased, levels of stress and despair tended to decrease.
The aim of study was to explore pharmacist insights toward the impact of prospective implementation of the national health insurance program on patients, providers and Iraqi health system.
This was a qualitative study including semi-structured face-to-face (mostly) interviews with experienced pharmacists. The interview guide included open-ended questions about the impact of the national health insurance program on patients and healthcare providers at three levels: quality of services, costs, and frequency of visits. Potential challenges were also discussed. Interviews were conducted in four provinces from March to May 2022. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview findings and generate themes and subthemes.
The
... Show MoreAbstract
Biosimilars are non-innovative copy versions of biologic medicines which are proven to be clinically equivalent to, as effective and as safe as their reference biologics. Biosimilars creates opportunities for cost savings for payers, governments, and patients compared with the reference products. Pharmacist plays an essential role in developing biosimilar medicines from manufacturing to post-marketing pharmacovigilance monitoring. The aim of the current study was to explore the level of knowledge, behaviors and practices of a sample of Iraqi pharmacists towards biosimilar medicines. The current study was a cross sectional, carried out during May 2020. A total of 2
... Show More
Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most widespread cancer among women worldwide. Its incidence and mortality rates have risen in the previous three decades as a result of changes in risk factor profiles, improved cancer registry, and cancer detection. Objective: The study's goals were to establish if Ki-67 could be used as a potential marker in serum of cancer disease patients as well as their interaction with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and ES in various stages of breast cancer to assess their function in the progression of BC. Materials and Methods: The levels of Ki-67, VEGF and endostatin (ES) in serum were assessed by commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits in 60 women diagnosed with breast cancer
... Show MoreAbstract
Drug information resources are the information that is used in medications discovery, utilization, and management. Little information about different types of resources used by Iraqi community pharmacists is known. Therefore, the objectives were to determine drug information resources' type do the pharmacists used and the common drug information questions they faced during their work in community pharmacy. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in different Iraqi provinces and online self-reported survey was introduced through Google Form Software to an appropriate sample of graduated pharmacists who were working in a private community pharmacy and having at least one
... Show MorePatient safety is the main issue in health care organization, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality defines it as, “freedom from accidental or preventable injuries produced by medical care. Thus, practices or interventions that improve patient safety are those that reduce the occurrence of preventable adverse events”. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Iraqi pharmacist perception about the culture of patient safety. As well as estimate whether safety is a principal issue in their pharmaceutical practice this study was carried out on 435 pharmacists who are working in community pharmacies in various Iraqi provinces. A survey was distributed via the internet during the period from May to June 2020. A community pharmacy
... Show MoreIntroduction/Aim. Seminal fluid analysis (SFA) plays a crucial role in helping infertility clinics diagnose the underlying reason of male infertility. The aim of the study was to investigate seminal fluid patterns of male partners of an infertile couple with apparently fertile female partners. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2019 and December 2022. Patients were attending consultations for delayed conception for more than 12 months with apparently fertile female partner. Results. Four hundred fifty-three patients were included in the study. The distribution of patients according to age groups showed that 277 patients were young, aged 21 - 30 years (61%). Two hundred sixty-two (58%) patien
... Show MoreBackground: Hypothyroidism is the most prevalent thyroid disorders worldwide. Hypothyroidism manifestations are wide spectrum, affecting various systems in human body including the nervous system. Hypothyroidism can cause neuropsychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression and diminishing in attention, memory and executive function. Aim: to investigate the level of anxiety and depression in patients with hypothyroidism receiving levothyroxine treatment. Method: a cross-sectional study was conducted at Baghdad Center for Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Therapy from March to June 2022. The study population included patients of both genders, aged 18-65 years, diagnosed with hypothyroidism, were receiving levothyroxine treatment and
... Show MoreThe aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of workplace stress on employee engagement within Iraqi universities through the mediator role of leadership style. Work-related stress and non-work-related stress were identified as representing workplace stress. Employee engagement has been measured through three types: social engagement, affective engagement, and intellectual engagement. Two types of leadership styles have been tested: directive and participative leadership. the structural equation Modeling was used to test the study model. A sample of 245 employees in Iraqi universities, including university professors, was targeted. Only 214 respondents participated in the survey. The results showed that non-work-relate
... Show More