Identifying Drug-Therapy Problems among Syrian Refugees in Zaatari Refugee Camp.

Background: Due to a lack of proper pharmaceutical care, Syrian refugees in the Zaatari refugee camp are more likely to have drug-related issues, such as prescription errors and adverse drug occurrences. Aim: The current study aims to identify drug-therapy problems among Syrian refugees in the Zaatari refugee camp. Method: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. Patients' files were collected from the Zaatari camp database. Patients who were 18 years or older and were previously diagnosed with a chronic disease were included. A classification of drug therapy problems (DTPs) was adapted. Results: The data of 1530 adult patients (896 females) were collected. The mean age of the sample was 53.7 years and the mean Body mass Index (BMI) was 27.20. The mean of all taken medications was 4.01 (±2.33) medications, with a maximum number of 13. A total of 3572 DTPs was identified, with a mean of 2.33 (±1.26) DTPs per patient. Based on the above-mentioned classification, 70.32% of the DTPs were related to indication, 26.65% were related to effectiveness, and 3.03% were related to safety. Conclusion: This study found that refugees in the Zaatari refugee camp have numerous DTPs among their medications. Greater focus should be placed on their medical care, in order to prevent any future complications due to DTPs.

Oral Cancer Awareness, Attitudes, and Barriers among Jordanian Adults: A Cross-sectional Study.

PURPOSE: To identify the gaps in the Jordanian population's knowledge about oral cancer, screening and attitudes toward screening, in addition to determining the barriers to oral cancer screening. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional web-based study was conducted. The first section of the questionnaire employed collected the participants' sociodemographic data. A question about whether patients had heard about oral cancer was then included, and those who answered 'no' were instructed to submit the questionnaire. The subsequent parts evaluated the participants' knowledge of oral cancer and screening, attitudes toward screening, and barriers against screening. ANOVA and chi-squared tests were conducted to investigate the sample characteristics associated with the participants' unfamiliarity with oral cancer. Binary regression was conducted to predict the variables associated with the participants' knowledge and attitudes. RESULTS: The questionnaire was filled by 1307 participants (1011 females). Most of the participants (70.01%) stated that they had heard of oral cancer, and the variables associated with awareness of oral were sex, monthly income, health insurance coverage, working status, and educational level. Sources of information and age were significantly associated with knowledge and attitude levels. The most 'agree/strongly agree' responses about barriers were lack of knowledge and lack of awareness. CONCLUSION: The study participants had moderate knowledge about oral cancer and satisfactory attitudes toward screening. Nearly all barriers to screening can be overcome by the joint efforts of healthcare providers and health authorities.

Exploring variables associated with medication non-adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess medication adherence and explore its predictors in outpatients with type 2 diabetes. METHOD: This cross-sectional study collected socio-demographics, disease-related information, and different biomedical variables for type 2 diabetes patients attending a Jordanian Diabetes center. The four-item medication adherence scale (4-IMAS) and the beliefs about medications questionnaire (BMQ) which includes necessity and concerns were used. Stepwise backward quartile regression models were conducted to evaluate variables associated with the Necessity and Concerns scores. Stepwise ordinal regression was conducted to evaluate variables associated with adherence. RESULTS: 287 diabetic patients participated in the study. Almost half of the participants (46.5%) reported moderate adherence and 12.2% reported low adherence. Significant predictors of the adherence were necessity score (OR = 14.86, p <0.01), concern score (OR = 0.36, p <0.05), and frequency of medication administration (OR = 0.88, p- <0.01). Education was a significant predictor of Necessity and Concerns scores (ß = 0.48, -0.2, respectively). CONCLUSION: Simplifying the medication regimen, emphasizing medication necessity and overcoming medication concerns should be targeted in future diabetes intervention programs to improve medication adherence and hence glycemic control among diabetic patients.