Emerging trends: the involvement of community pharmacists in the planning and execution of pharmaceutical policies and economics.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to analyze existing research on the involvement of community pharmacists in the planning and execution of pharmaceutical policies and economic strategies. METHODS: The researcher searched five scholarly databases: Medline, BioMed Central (BMC), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), ProQuest, and PubMed for the reviewed articles. The search and selection of the articles involved searching each of the databases using specific keywords and a combination of them to form phrases and the Boolean search string. The researcher adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines in developing this study. RESULTS: From the original search, a total of 537 articles emerged from which 17 articles remained upon screening. Findings show that the community pharmacy role has expanded over the past years to enable pharmacists serve diverse roles, but there is a high lack of involvement of these stakeholders in the planning and execution of policies. The pharmaceutical and health-care sectors operate in a way that does not recognize nor engage community pharmacists sufficiently in the policy planning and execution. CONCLUSIONS: Relevant stakeholders need to create an enabling and supportive environment for utilizing the abilities, knowledge, and skills of community pharmacists in policy planning and execution.

Assessment of the Association Between Use of WhatsApp for Work-Related Purposes and Levels of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Healthcare Workers from Jazan, Saudi Arabia.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the potential association between use of WhatsApp in healthcare settings for work-related purposes and depression, stress, and anxiety levels among a sample of healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of healthcare employees working in different hospitals in Jazan. The data was collected via a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire with three components that measured the demographics of the sample; the presence of depression, anxiety, and stress; and their use of WhatsApp in the work environment. A multivariate regression analysis was carried out to estimate the statistical likelihood of depression, anxiety, and stress as a result of using WhatsApp and how these factors affected occupational and social relationships. Results: A total of 294 healthcare workers participated in the current study. The median age of the participants was 32 years, and the gender distribution was almost even. Over 90% of the participants stated that they were members of work-related WhatsApp groups, and nearly 70% agreed that use of WhatsApp in work-related settings could be stressful. Among the recruited sample, 48.6% exhibited abnormal levels of depression, 55.8% had abnormal levels of anxiety, and 63% showed abnormal levels of stress. The findings of the regression analysis (P values <0.05) indicated that the likelihood of these participants suffering with depression, anxiety, and stress was high, with the participants themselves agreeing that using WhatsApp in work settings could be stressful and affect their relationships with colleagues, friends, and family members. Conclusion: The findings suggests the presence of a potential association between use of WhatsApp for work-related purposes and levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, especially among those who perceive its use as a stressor and influencer on occupational and social relationships.

The expected economic burden on the healthcare system because of quarantining patients with monkeypox virus.

Quarantine is a common public health intervention that is often used to curb pandemics of infectious diseases. Quarantine is the intentional separation of people who are either suspected or confirmed to be infected with a contagious virus from the uninfected population. The goal of this study was to determine the expected economic cost for healthcare systems due to quarantine in the case of the monkeypox virus. A systematic literature review of studies on similar virus outbreaks was performed. The findings affirm that quarantine effectively mitigates the spread of a virus outbreak, but it has high direct and indirect costs that can only be justifiable for a dangerous virus with high mortality. The monkeypox virus presents moderate risk, unlike high-risk diseases for which quarantine is mandatory. The study recommends the introduction of mass vaccination programs and public awareness and sensitization forums to inform the population about the best behavioral practices to curb the spread of monkeypox virus.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Interventions to Mitigate the Monkeypox Virus.

When a viral outbreak occurs, governments are obligated to protect their citizens from the diverse adverse effects of the disease. Health policymakers often have several interventions to consider based on the health of the population, as well as the cascading social and economic consequences of the possible mitigation strategies. The current outbreak of the monkeypox virus has elicited debate on the best mitigation strategy, especially given that most world economies are still recovering from the harsh economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper sought to analyze the costs and benefits of three possible strategies and determine which option has the best health outcomes and positive economic effects. A case study of Jeddah was performed, whereby a model was simulated to determine the number of infections over 28 days based on one case of the monkeypox virus. Findings reveal that the vaccination provides the best intervention, as it effectively reduces the transmission rate and prevents loss of lives in the city. From the model, only three people were infected over the research period, while no deaths were reported. Although vaccination incurs a huge direct cost at the beginning, in the long run, it saves the economy from the disease's financial burden in terms of productivity loss from work absenteeism and premature deaths.

Cross-border movement, economic development and malaria elimination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Malaria at international borders presents particular challenges with regards to elimination. International borders share common malaria ecologies, yet neighboring countries are often at different stages of the control-to-elimination pathway. Herein, we present a case study on malaria, and its control, at the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Malaria program activity reports, case data, and ancillary information have been assembled from national health information systems, archives, and other related sources. Information was analyzed as a semi-quantitative time series, between 2000 and 2017, to provide a plausibility framework to understand the possible contributions of factors related to control activities, conflict, economic development, migration, and climate. The malaria recession in the Yemeni border regions of Saudi Arabia is a likely consequence of multiple, coincidental factors, including scaled elimination activities, cross-border vector control, periods of low rainfall, and economic development. The temporal alignment of many of these factors suggests that economic development may have changed the receptivity to the extent that it mitigated against surges in vulnerability posed by imported malaria from its endemic neighbor Yemen. In many border areas of the world, malaria is likely to be sustained through a complex congruence of factors, including poverty, conflict, and migration.

Association of video gaming with some risky behaviors of secondary school adolescents in Abha, Southwestern Saudi Arabia.

AIM: The aim of this study was to describe the patterns of video gaming among secondary school adolescents and to investigate their association with some risky behaviors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 336 students randomly selected from secondary schools in Abha City, Saudi Arabia, during the academic year 2015-2016. A predesigned self-report questionnaire was used to assess students' sociodemographic data, pattern, motivators and drawbacks of video gaming, previous academic year grades, history of violent acts, road traffic accidents (RTA), and traffic rules violations. Weight and height were measured for every participant and the BMI was calculated. RESULTS: About 80% of students played video games and 76% owned a video game machine. The median onset of video gaming was 10 years. The most important motivator for video gaming was 'give a chance for fun and excitement' (93.7%), followed by 'give a chance to get rid of the boredom and leisure' (92.3%). The most frequently reported social drawbacks were interfering with sleep time (69%), physical activity (64%), and meal time (59%). BMI was not significantly associated with the pattern of video game playing (P>0.05). Academic performance was significantly lower among students who used to game in cybercafes (P=0.001). Prevalence of tobacco smoking and some risky behaviors such as traffic rule violations, significant RTA, and violence were encountered more significantly among those preferring race and drift games (P<0.05) and used to game in cybercafes (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Video gaming among secondary school students in Abha, Saudi Arabia, is relatively high. Some risky behaviors such as smoking, violence, significant RTA, and violation of traffic rules were significantly associated with race and drift games and gaming in cybercafes. School-based educational programs for both adolescents and their parents should be provided to gain skills about effective time management, avoid over-gaming, risky games and gaming in cybercafes. Legal restriction on importing and selling risky video games should be considered by the government.

In-hospital adverse clinical outcomes of ST elevation myocardial infarction patients with renal dysfunction. Insights from the Saudi Project for Assessment of Coronary Events.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the prognostic value of baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in Saudi patients presenting with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), and its impact on hospital therapies. METHODS: The STEMI patients with a baseline serum Creatinine enrolled in the SPACE (Saudi Project for Assessment of Coronary Events) registry were analyzed. This study was performed in several regions in Saudi Arabia between December 2005 to December 2007. Based on eGFR levels, patients were classified into: more than 90.1 ml/min (normal renal function), 90-60.1 (borderline/mildly impaired renal function), 60-30 (moderate renal dysfunction), and less than 30 ml/min/1.73 m2 (severe renal dysfunction). RESULTS: Two thousand and fifty-eight patients qualified for this study. Of these, 1058 patients had renal dysfunction. Patients with renal dysfunction were older, and had a higher prevalence of risk factors for atherosclerosis. Patients with moderate or severe renal dysfunction were less likely to be treated with beta blockers, angiotensin converting enzymes inhibitors, statins, or reperfusion therapies. Significantly worse outcomes were seen with lower eGFR in a stepwise fashion. The adjusted odds ratio of in-hospital death in patients with eGFR less than 30 ml/min was 5.3 (95% CI, 1.15-25.51, p=0.0383). CONCLUSION: A low baseline eGFR in STEMI patients is an independent predictor of all major adverse cardiovascular outcomes, and a marker for less aggressive in-hospital therapy.

High-density lipoproteins and cardiovascular disease: 2010 update.

High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) is a continuous inverse cardiovascular risk factor. The mechanisms by which HDLs protect against atherosclerosis are multiple. The major effect is thought to be reverse cholesterol transport, the mechanism by which excess cellular cholesterol is returned to the liver for excretion in the bile. HDLs also have pleiotropic roles: they decrease inflammation, prevent low-density lipoprotein oxidation, vascular endothelial cell apoptosis and thrombosis, and improve vascular endothelial function. Recent studies suggest that nascent HDL particles are metabolized rapidly and that their components (Apo AI, cholesterol and phospholipids) are rapidly exchanged within lipoprotein classes. There are many causes of HDL-C deficiency. Using Mendelian randomization, several groups have concluded that many genetic forms of HDL deficiency do not increase cardiovascular risk. This raises the controversial issue of the causality of low HDL-C as a cardiovascular risk factor, rather than a marker of cardiovascular health. This is reflected in the importance of lifestyle in determining HDL-C levels. The treatment of low HDL-C remains controversial, in part because the only currently available effective medication, niacin, is relatively poorly tolerated and outcomes studies on cardiovascular disease prevention are still pending.