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Background: Coronavirus illness (COVID-19) has spread globally and is affecting everyone severely. The evaluation of educational needs (knowledge, attitudes, and practices) is important in controlling COVID-19 situations. The goal of this study is to find out what adults in Ardabil City know, how they feel, and what they do about the COVID-19 infection. Methods: In November 2021, a cross-sectional descriptive-correlational survey of 384 people was conducted using stratified-cluster sampling in Ardabil. The researchers created a self-reported questionnaire with 23 items as the data collection technique. The quantitative data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, the correlation coefficient, and regression analysis. Results: The correct answer rate for this research found that 73.17% of participants (n = 281) had appropriate knowledge, 61.19% (n = 235) had favorable attitudes, and 69.53% (n = 267) had enough practice behavior. However, knowledge was related to gender, employment, and location of residence. Age, marital status, education level, and location of residence were all connected with attitude. Age, gender, and marital status were all related to the behavior. The findings of linear regression analysis revealed that knowledge and attitude influence behavior. Conclusion: The study findings revealed a high degree of understanding of COVID-19, a positive attitude, and a strong commitment to good practices. Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors were influenced to varying degrees by age, marital status, education level, employment, and location of residence. Furthermore, knowledge and attitudes influenced behaviors.
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INTRODUCTION: Improving public health through providing affordable and accessible pharmaceuticals is among the concerns of governments worldwide. This study aimed to analyze Iran's pharmaceutical sector policies in order to identify the challenges and suggest some strategic solutions to overcome such challenges. METHODS: Top managers (15), middle managers (10), and operational managers (5) working in the Food and Drug Administration of Iranian Ministry of Health along with community pharmacists (5) participated in a qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data were recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed via MAXQDA 10 software. RESULTS: Policies for national pharmaceutical sector were divided into four groups of "research & development", "import & export", "pharmaceutical procurement", and "pharmaceutical supply and distribution". Then, the challenges faced by each sector were extracted. Considering the challenges, some policy options were recommended for growth and development of national pharmaceutical sector. CONCLUSION: Iran's pharmaceutical sector has managerial and administrative differences compared with overseas pharmaceutical sectors. These differences are the main reasons for the current status of Iran's pharmaceutical sector and have put Iran behind foreign pharmaceutical sectors. Iran's pharmaceutical sector has endured many critical periods during recent decades and has gained great experience during these stages. Therefore, it is believed that Iran's pharmaceutical sector, with its experience and potential, is capable of producing world-level medicines.
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Background: Hip, vertebral and wrist fractures are the most common consequences of osteoporosis. This study aimed at analyzing the cost-effectiveness of teriparatide (CinnoPar®), compared with alendronate and risedronate, in the treatment of women aged 60 and over with postmenopausal osteoporosis in Iran. Methods: A decision tree model with a 2-year time horizon was used to compare treatment with teriparatide (CinnoPar®) with the following treatment strategies: two years of treatment with alendronate and two years of treatment with risedronate in women aged 60 years and over or those at risk of osteoporosis. Cost per QALY was calculated for 3 treatment strategies from the model. After base case analysis, one-way sensitivity analysis was performed on key parameters of the model to assess their impact on the study results and the cost-effectiveness of different treatment strategies and the model robustness. TreeAge Pro 2006 software was used for modeling and data analysis. Results: Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of alendronate and teriparatide than risedronate (base treatment) were US$- 2178.03 and US$483,783.67 per QALY, respectively. Therefore, the dominant and cost-effective treatment option was alendronate. In the one-way sensitivity analysis, the impact of annual 25% increase or decrease in the teriparatide cost on its ICER was remarkable. Also, reducing the discount rate from 0.03 to 0.0 had the greatest impact on the ICER of the teriparatide. Conclusion: The treatment strategy of teriparatide is more expensive than risedronate and alendronate and is associated with very little increase in QALYs. A significant reduction in teriparatide price and a limit in its use only for high-risk women and for acute and short-term treatment courses can contribute to its cost-effectiveness.
