Determinants of community pharmacists’ information gathering and counseling practices during the management of minor ailments

ObjectiveTo assess the determinants of community pharmacists’ information gathering and counseling practices during the management of minor ailments in Qatar.MethodA cross-sectional study of 305 community pharmacists was conducted with a pre-tested 27-item questionnaire. Bivariate logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of information gathering and counseling practices.ResultsThe response rate was 92.5% (282/305). A majority of the respondents (68.1%) were males, within the age range of 31–40 years (55.3%), work for chains pharmacies (77.3%), and were predominantly of foreign nationalities (94.7%). Patients’ identity (91.1%), age (92.2%), symptoms (92.6%) and duration of symptoms (89.3%) were most frequent information gathered, while dose (99%), frequency (97.8%), route of administration (95.7%), and duration of use (92.9%) were the most frequent counseling information. Median information gathering score was significantly higher in females and among community pharmacists in chain pharmacies (p < 0.05), while median counseling practice scores were significantly higher among in chain pharmacies (p < 0.05). Consultation time of 6–10 min (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.02–3.0, p = 0.04) and female gender (OR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.16–3.79, p = 0.01) were significant determinants of information gathering, while age group (31–40 years) (OR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.05–3.22, p = 0.03) and consultation time (6–10 min) (OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.31–3.86, p = 0.003) were significant determinants of counseling practices.ConclusionThe significant determinants of community pharmacists’ Information gathering and counseling practices during the management of minor ailments were female gender and consultation time (6–10 min), and age group (31–40 years) and consultation time (6–10 min) respectively.     

Sources of AIDS awareness among women in India

Sources of AIDS awareness among rural and urban Indian women were analysed using data from the National Family and Health Survey (1998-2000). Two measures were developed to study the impact each source had on knowledge. 'Effectiveness' was defined as the proportion of women who had heard of AIDS from only one source, from among women who had heard of AIDS from that particular source and other sources. 'Independent effect' was the proportion who had heard of AIDS from only one source in relation to all women who had heard of AIDS. Television was the most effective medium, and also had the highest independent effect. Radio and print had very low effectiveness and independent effect. Although television and print audiences are growing in India, it is likely a sub-group of women will continue to lack media access. There is an urgent need to disseminate AIDS awareness to this 'media underclass'. Since the media will not reach this group, other sources including health workers, community level activities such as adult education programmes, and networks of friends and relatives need to be explored.     

The cost of being a man: social and health consequences of Igbo masculinity

In the bid to explain reproductive health outcomes in most developing countries, men have often been seen as the cause of the problem. However, no systematic attempt has been made to examine men's perception of their own social and health needs, including how ideologies of masculinity impact men's social and physical health. This study examines the Igbo context and shows how men understand and interpret masculinity and the consequences of this for social and health behaviours. Data from adolescent and adult Igbo men aged 15–75 were collected using both quantitative survey interviews (n = 1372) and qualitative techniques such as focus-group discussion (n = 20), in-depth interviews (n = 10) and key informant interviews (n = 10) in selected areas of south-eastern Nigeria. We collected data on gender role ideologies and sexuality issues and practices. Our analysis shows that there are social and health costs associated with adherence to masculine ideologies and a strong association between masculine ideologies and men's health, risk-taking and health-seeking behaviours in the study population. We conclude that all sexual and reproductive health programmes should include services that address the specific needs of men and those negative aspects of masculinity that tend to expose men to adverse health outcomes.     

Impact of lockdown relaxation and implementation of the face-covering policy on mental health: A United Kingdom COVID-19 study

BACKGROUNDPandemic mitigation policies, such as lockdown, are known to impact on mental health of individuals. Compulsory face covering under relaxed lockdown restrictions gives assurance of less transmission of airborne infection and has the potential to improve mental health of individuals affected by restrictions. AIMTo examine the association of the lockdown relaxation and the implementation of the face covering policy on the mental health of the general population and sub-groups in the United Kingdom using interrupted time series model.METHODSUsing a web-based cross-sectional survey of 28890 United Kingdom adults carried out during May 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020, changes in mental health status using generalised anxiety disorder (GAD-7), and impact of events scale-revised (IES-R) scales are examined, at the dates of the first lockdown relaxation (July 4, 2020) and the subsequent introduction of face covering (July 24, 2020) in United Kingdom. A sharp regression discontinuity design is used to check discontinuities in mental health outcomes at policy-change dates.RESULTSAverage GAD-7 scores of participants were 5.6, 5.6 and 4.3 during the lockdown period, the lockdown relaxation phase and the phase of compulsory face covering, respectively, with lower scores indicating lower anxiety levels. Corresponding scores for IES-R were 17.3, 16.8 and 13.4, with lower scores indicating less distress. Easing lockdown measures and subsequent introduction of face covering, on average, reduced GAD-7 by 0.513 (95%CI: 0.913-0.112) and 1.148 (95%CI: 1.800-0.496), respectively. Corresponding reductions in IES-R were 2.620 (95%CI: 4.279-0.961) and 3.449 (95%CI: 5.725-1.172). These imply that both lockdown relaxation and compulsory face-covering have a positive association with mental health scores (GAD-7 and IES-R). CONCLUSIONThe differential impact of lockdown and relaxation on the mental health of population sub-groups is evident in this study with future implications for policy. Introduction of face covering in public places had a stronger positive association with mental health than lockdown relaxation.     

Rural women's knowledge of AIDS in the higher prevalence states of India: reproductive health and sociocultural correlates

This study aimed to identify socio-cultural and reproductive health correlates of knowledge about AIDS among rural women using multivariate analysis of 1998-1999 National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data from two Indian states, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, where the urban HIV prevalence is relatively high. Analysis using multiple logistic regression was undertaken, modelling women's knowledge of AIDS, of whether the disease can be avoided, and of effective means of protection. Although 47% of all rural women in Maharashtra were aware of AIDS only about 28% knew that one can avoid it, and only about 16% possessed correct knowledge about its transmission. In Tamil Nadu, where overall 82% of rural women had awareness of AIDS, about 71% knew that one can avoid the disease but only about 31% possessed correct knowledge about its transmission. In both states, women from socially and economically backward groups had lower odds both of having awareness of AIDS and knowledge of ways to avoid getting the disease. Associations with socio-cultural and reproductive variables and the impact of contact with family planning services differed in the two states. The spread of the epidemic to rural areas presents a need actively to disseminate AIDS related knowledge for health protection rather than waiting for knowledge to follow the appearance of the disease in communities. Approaches to health promotion that do not consider differing contextual factors are unlikely to succeed. In particular, innovative strategies to disseminate knowledge among disadvantaged population groups are needed.