Reliability and validity of the Malay version of the drive-thru community pharmacy service questionnaire and the Malaysian public's awareness, attitudes, and perceptions of drive-thru community pharmacy during COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Understanding general public's experiences of using drive-thru pharmacies during COVID-19 in different countries is imperative for establishing these services by standardizing global guidelines for drive-thru pharmacies. The objectives of this study were to validate a Malay version of the drive-thru community pharmacy service questionnaire for use among Malaysians and to obtain a better understanding of the public's awareness, attitudes, and perceptions of drive-thru community pharmacy service during COVID-19. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional study, conducted online using a Google form survey using a convenient sampling method among the Malaysian public. The English version of the drive-thru community pharmacy service questionnaire was translated into the Malay language according to international guidelines. The content and face validity of the questionnaire were examined by experts. Then, the questionnaire was pilot tested on 15 native speakers. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficients. The test-retest reliability was measured with Cohen's κ coefficient. RESULTS: A total of 519 participants completed the questionnaire. Face and content validity were satisfactory, as noticed by both the experts and pilot study participants. For test-retest reliability (32 participants), most perception statements had very good coefficient agreement values. Cronbach's alpha of the perception part was 0.833, indicating strong internal consistency. The median age of study participants was 50.0 (IQR = 31.0) and about half of them were females (50.3%, n = 261). Despite 20.4% (n = 106) of the participants reported that the drive-thru community pharmacy service was available in their cities, only 10.4% (n = 54) reported using it. Most participants were in favor of introducing drive-thru services in community pharmacies throughout the country. Drive-thru community pharmacies, according to more than half of the participants (n = 394), would be beneficial to the public. Participants acknowledged that community pharmacies with drive-thru services were useful during the COVID-19 and quarantine periods due to the enhanced social distance 43.5% (n = 226), reduced the spread of the COVID-19 virus 47.0% (n = 244), and relieved pressure on other healthcare settings 38.2% (n = 198). CONCLUSIONS: The translated questionnaire was valid and reliable in assessing the perceptions toward drive-thru community pharmacy service during COVID-19 in Malaysia. The participants expressed good awareness and favorable attitudes and perceptions toward drive-thru community pharmacy service during COVID-19. Furthermore, they perceived those services helped to increase social isolation and stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading.

Development and validation of an assessment tool for public perceptions toward drive-thru community pharmacy services in Malaysia during COVID-19.

Introduction: Community pharmacists' roles have expanded and undergone a significant transition over the last few years. Consequently, new and different pharmacy services, such as drive-thru pharmacy services, have emerged. Drive-thru pharmacy services began three decades ago and continued even during outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients' perceptions are essential to the successful implementation and satisfaction with any new service. This study examines the reliability and validity of the assessment tool of public perceptions toward drive-thru community pharmacy services in Malaysia during COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The developed tool consists of 28 items to evaluate believed advantages toward drive-thru community pharmacy services, believed disadvantages toward drive-thru community pharmacy services, differences between drive-thru community pharmacy services and instore drug refill services, perceptions toward drive-thru community pharmacy services and feelings regarding how the introduction of drive-thru pharmacy services may affect the image of community pharmacists. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to identify the factors of the developed tool, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) evaluated the model fitness. Results: The EFA identified five elements and 25 items for the tool, and through CFA results, the observed model of the 25 items structure of the tool was verified as an excellent fit for the data [χ2 (265, N = 565) = 819.586, p < 0.001, IFI = 0.931, CFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.064]. The results of the CFA indicated a good model fit between the observed model and the proposed model. The internal reliability of the entire tool and each factor was very satisfactory as Cronbach's Alpha for the whole structured tool was 0.843 and for each factor was as follows, first factor (believed advantages) = 0.909, second factor (believed disadvantages) = 0.921, third factor (differences between drive-thru and instore refill) = 0.647, fourth factor (perceptions) = 0.926, and fifth factor (feelings) = 0.681. Conclusion: The developed and validated tool would be valuable for assessing the public's perceptions of the drive-thru community pharmacy service during COVID-19 and future pandemics.

Attitudes, awareness, and perceptions of general public and pharmacists toward the extended community pharmacy services and drive-thru pharmacy services: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Several extended and newly added pharmacy services were evaluated in different countries. This review aims to provide a summary of studies on attitudes, awareness, or perceptions toward various extended and drive-thru pharmacy services at community settings among pharmacists and the general public. METHODS: To find qualitative and descriptive quantitative studies, that reported on the attitudes, awareness, or perceptions of the general public and pharmacists toward the practice of any extended community pharmacy service and drive-thru pharmacy services in a community setting and conducted from March 2012 to March 2022. Researchers used databases such as Embase, Medline PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct. The reviewers extracted data independently using the PRISMA checklist. RESULTS: There were 55 studies found according to the inclusion criteria. Various extended pharmacy services (EPS) and drive-thru pharmacy services were noted in the community setting. Pharmaceutical care services and healthcare promotion services were the noticeable performed extended services. There were positive perceptions and attitudes toward extended and drive-thru pharmacy services among pharmacists and the public. However, some factors, such as lack of time and shortage of staff, affect the practice of those services. CONCLUSION: Understanding the major concerns toward the provision of extended and drive-thru community pharmacy services and improving pharmacists' skills through more training programs to provide such services efficiently. In the future, more reviews for EPS practice barriers are recommended to faceup all concerns and find standardized guidelines by stakeholders and organizations for efficient EPS practices.

Efficacy and Safety of Capecitabine Alone or in Combination in Advanced Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Previously Treated with Anthracycline and Taxane: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Capecitabine is frequently used alone or combined with other chemotherapy agents for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in relapsed patients. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of capecitabine monotherapy versus combination in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer patients pretreated with anthracycline and taxane. METHODS: Eligible randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy and safety of capecitabine alone compared to capecitabine combination were systematically searched. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR), and grades 3-4 drug-related adverse events were the outcomes assessed. RESULTS: A total of 6,714 patients of 9 trials were involved in the pooled analysis. Our findings demonstrated that capecitabine combination is significantly superior to capecitabine monotherapy in improving PFS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.32, 95% CI 1.13-1.54, p < 0.0001) and ORR (risk ratio [RR] 0.67, 95% CI 0.54-0.83, p < 0.001), but it was insignificant in OS (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.98-1.22, p = 0.12). On the other hand, the incidence of non-hematological adverse events such as hand-foot syndrome and diarrhea was lower in capecitabine combination compared to capecitabine monotherapy. CONCLUSION: Capecitabine-based combination chemotherapy showed superiority over capecitabine monotherapy in terms of PFS and ORR, with no significant difference in OS. Non-hematological adverse effects such as hand-foot syndrome were fewer with a combination regimen. However, hematological adverse events were fewer with capecitabine monotherapy regimen.

Pharmacogenomics-based practice in North Cyprus: its adoption by pharmacists and their attitudes and knowledge.

Background Pharmacogenomics is a branch of biotechnological science integrating medicine, pharmacology, and genomics techniques. Moreover, it focuses on creating drug therapies in order to analyze genetic differences in patients causing various responses to a single therapeutic regimen. Objective This cross sectional study aimed to examine the attitude, knowledge and adoption among pharmacists in North Cyprus and the most appropriate method to improve education among them. Setting Community pharmacy setting. Method A total of 103 out of 140 pharmacists responded to a pre-tested and validated questionnaire consisting of 25 items during July through September 2016. Main outcome measure Pharmacists attitude, knowledge and adoption towards pharmacogenomic tests. Result Data showed that most of the pharmacists in North Cyprus had positive attitude and knowledge scores with mean value of 28.3 ± 5.3 (out of 40) and 6.9 ± 0.8 (out of 10) respectively, further findings showed that there is a significant difference among age groups in their total attitude score (p < 0.05). Conclusion Even though pharmacogenomics is a field promising a variety of benefits, it is vital to implement it in clinical settings in order to improve outcomes. Our findings highlight the necessity for more education on the availability and interpretation of pharmacogenomics tests.