scholarly journals The impact of pharmacist-led educational intervention on pneumococcal vaccine awareness and acceptance among elderly in Jordan

Author(s):  
Eman Y. Abu-rish ◽  
Noor A. Barakat
2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i48-i49
Author(s):  
S Visram ◽  
J Saini ◽  
R Mandvia

Abstract Introduction Opioid class drugs are a commonly prescribed form of analgesic widely used in the treatment of acute, cancer and chronic non-cancer pain. Up to 90% of individuals presenting to pain centres receive opioids, with doctors in the UK prescribing more and stronger opioids (1). Concern is increasing that patients with chronic pain are inappropriately being moved up the WHO ‘analgesic ladder’, originally developed for cancer pain, without considering alternatives to medications, (2). UK guidelines on chronic non-cancer pain management recommend weak opioids as a second-line treatment, when the first-line non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs / paracetamol) ineffective, and for short-term use only. A UK educational outreach programme by the name IMPACT (Improving Medicines and Polypharmacy Appropriateness Clinical Tool) was conducted on pain management. This research evaluated the IMPACT campaign, analysing the educational impact on the prescribing of morphine, tramadol and other high-cost opioids, in the Walsall CCG. Methods Standardised training material was delivered to 50 practices between December 2018 and June 2019 by IMPACT pharmacists. The training included a presentation on pain control, including dissemination of local and national guidelines, management of neuropathic, low back pain and sciatica as well as advice for prescribers on prescribing opioids in long-term pain, with the evidence-base. Prescribing trends in primary care were also covered in the training, and clinicians were provided with resources to use in their practice. Data analysis included reviewing prescribing data and evaluating the educational intervention using feedback from participants gathered via anonymous questionnaires administered at the end of the training. Prescribing data analysis was conducted by Keele University’s Medicines Management team via the ePACT 2 system covering October 2018 to September 2019 (two months before and three months after the intervention) were presented onto graphs to form comparisons in prescribing trends of the Midland CCG compared to England. Results Questionnaires completed at the end of sessions showed high levels of satisfaction, with feedback indicating that participants found the session well presented, successful at highlighting key messages, and effective in using evidence-based practice. 88% of participants agreed the IMPACT campaign increased their understanding of the management and assessment of pain, and prescribing of opioids and other resources available to prescribers. The majority (85%) wished to see this form of education being repeated regularly in the future for other therapeutic areas. Analysis of the prescribing data demonstrated that the total volume of opioid analgesics decreased by 1.7% post-intervention in the Midlands CCG in response to the pharmacist-led educational intervention. As supported by literature, the use of educational strategies, including material dissemination and reminders as well as group educational outreach was effective in engaging clinicians, as demonstrated by the reduction in opioid prescribing and high GP satisfaction in this campaign. Conclusion The IMPACT campaign was effective at disseminating pain-specific guidelines for opioid prescribing to clinicians, leading to a decrease in overall prescribing of opioid analgesics. Educational outreach as an approach is practical and a valuable means to improve prescribing by continuing medical education. References 1. Els, C., Jackson, T., Kunyk, D., Lappi, V., Sonnenberg, B., Hagtvedt, R., Sharma, S., Kolahdooz, F. and Straube, S. (2017). Adverse events associated with medium- and long-term use of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain: an overview of Cochrane Reviews. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. This provided the statistic of percentage receiving opioids that present to pain centres. 2. Heit, H. (2010). Tackling the Difficult Problem of Prescription Opioid Misuse. Annals of Internal Medicine, 152(11), p.747. Issues with prescriptions and inappropriate moving up the WHO ladder.


Circulation ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 125 (suppl_10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Céspedes ◽  
German Briceño ◽  
Michael Farkouh ◽  
Rajesh Vedanthan ◽  
Martha Leal ◽  
...  

Introduction: Educational programs for children can increase uptake of healthy lifestyle behaviors. However, the impact of educational programs in preschool-aged children in low- and middle-income countries is not known. We conducted a five month educational intervention in preschool facilities (PF) in Bogota, Colombia, to assess changes in preschooler’s knowledge, attitudes and habits (KAH) towards healthy eating and living an active lifestyle. Methods: We conducted a cluster, randomized, controlled trial, and randomly assigned 14 PF in Bogota to a five-month educational intervention (7 PF) or to usual curriculum (7 PF). The intervention included classroom activities and use of printed material and videos. A total of 1216 pre-school children, 928 parents, and 120 teachers participated. A structured survey was used to evaluate changes in KAH with a weighted total score (WTS). The primary outcome was change in children's WTS, and the secondary outcomes were change in parents’ and teachers' WTS. The control PF were provided the intervention after the initial evaluation. To assess sustainability, we evaluated both intervention and control groups at 18 months. Results: At 6 months, children in the intervention group showed 10.9% increase in WTS vs. 5.3% in controls, p<0.001, after adjustment for cluster, sex, age and teachers' educational level. Among parents, the equivalent results were 8.9% and 3.1%, respectively, p< 0.001, and among teachers 9.4% and 2.5%, p=0.06. At the 18-month extended follow-up, both the intervention and control children showed a significant further increase in WTS, p<0.001 (Figure 1). In parents and teachers in the intervened group, there was no significant increase in WTS, p=0.7417, and p=0.1197. In the control group, there was an increase in WTS in teachers but not in parents, p=0.001, and p=0.4239. Conclusion: A preschool based intervention, aimed at changing KAH related to healthy diet and active lifestyle, is feasible, efficacious and sustainable up to 18 months in very young children in Colombia.


2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Farzandipour ◽  
Z Meidani ◽  
F Rangraz Jeddi ◽  
H Gilasi ◽  
L Shokrizadeh Arani ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Mohammad Mehdi Hazavehei ◽  
Khadije Ezzati Rastegar ◽  
Mitra Dogonchi ◽  
Nooshin Salimi ◽  
Elham Gheisvandi

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
I Adeosun ◽  
O Ogun ◽  
S Adeyemo ◽  
A Bello ◽  
O Fatiregun

Objective: Primary school teachers have been identified as important partners in the prompt recognition, referral and management of children with ADHD. However their capacity to function in these roles is hinged on their extent of knowledge about ADHD. Furthermore teachers' knowledge about ADHD may influence the education and clinical outcomes of children with ADHD. This study assessed the impact of an educational intervention program on knowledge about ADHD among primary school teachers in Lagos, Nigeria. Method: An experimental study of the impact of a brief educational intervention on ADHD literacy among primary school teachers (n=144) in Lagos, Nigeria. At baseline, knowledge about symptoms and treatment of ADHD was elicited with a vignette-based questionnaire. The intervention consisted of the administration of an educational leaflet about ADHD, designed by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. One week post-intervention, the baseline assessments were repeated. Results: At baseline, 92.4% of the teachers could not recognise features of ADHD. The majority were also unaware of the role of teachers, medications and psychological interventions in the management of children with ADHD. Post-intervention, significantly greater number of respondents compared with baseline (88.0% vs. 7.6%) correctly identified symptoms of ADHD (p<0.005), and agreed that ADHD could be successfully managed with medications (63.2% vs. 9.0%; p<0.005) and psychological treatment (79.2% vs. 16.7%; p<0.005). Conclusion: A simple low-cost educational intervention is effective in improving knowledge about ADHD among primary school teachers in the shortterm. Further research is required to evaluate the impact of this intervention in the long term.


mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moon H. Nahm ◽  
Jigui Yu ◽  
Jiri Vlach ◽  
Maor Bar-Peled

ABSTRACT We are exposed daily to many glycans from bacteria and food plants. Bacterial glycans are generally antigenic and elicit antibody responses. It is unclear if food glycans’ sharing of antigens with bacterial glycans influences our immune responses to bacteria. We studied 14 different plant foods for cross-reactivity with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against 24 pneumococcal serotypes which commonly cause infections and are included in pneumococcal vaccines. Serotype 15B-specific MAb cross-reacts with fruit peels, and serotype 10A MAb cross-reacts with many natural and processed plant foods. The serotype 10A cross-reactive epitope is 1,6-β-galactosidase [βGal(1-6)], present in the rhamno-galacturonan I (RG-I) domain of pectin. Despite wide consumption of pectin, the immune response to 10A is comparable to the responses to other serotypes. An antipectin antibody can opsonize serotype 10A pneumococci, and the shared βGal(1-6) may be useful as a simple vaccine against 10A. Impact of food glycans should be considered in host-pathogen interactions and future vaccine designs. IMPORTANCE The impact of food consumption on vaccine responses is unknown. Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is an important human pathogen, and its polysaccharide capsule is used as a vaccine. We show that capsule type 10A in a pneumococcal vaccine shares an antigenic epitope, βGal(1-6), with pectin, which is in many plant foods and is widely consumed. Immune response to 10A is comparable to that seen with other capsule types, and pectin ingestion may have little impact on vaccine responses. However, antibody to pectin can kill serotype 10A pneumococci and this shared epitope may be considered in pneumococcal vaccine designs.


Author(s):  
Asam Latif ◽  
Nargis Gulzar ◽  
Sejal Gohil ◽  
Theo Ansong

Abstract Objective Quality improvement (QI) is increasingly featuring in the United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS) agenda to promote safety, effectiveness and patient experience. However, the use of QI techniques by healthcare professionals appears limited and constrained with only isolated examples of good practice. This study explores QI within the pharmacy context. Focusing on the community pharmacy ‘Healthy Living Pharmacy scheme’, this study aims to explore changes in QI understanding resulting from a postgraduate QI educational intervention. Methods Four focus groups were held involving 13 community pharmacists enrolled onto a newly developed postgraduate QI educational module. Two focus groups were held before and two after the module’s completion. Knowledge of QI and practical applications following the learning was explored. Key findings Three themes emerged: pharmacists’ motivation for learning about QI, conceptual understanding and translation into practice. Pharmacists expressed positive views about learning new skills but expressed logistical concerns about how they would accommodate the extra learning. Prior knowledge of QI was found to be lacking and its application in practice ineffectual. Following completion of the QI module, significant improvements in comprehension and application were seen. Pharmacists considered it too soon to make an assessment on patient outcomes as their improvements required time to effectively embed changes in practice. Conclusions Quality improvement forms an important part of the NHS quality and safety agenda; however, community pharmacists may not currently have adequate knowledge of QI principles. The postgraduate educational intervention showed promising results in pharmacist’s knowledge, organisational culture and application in practice.


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