Medication errors by caregivers in the homes of children discharged from a pediatric department in Ghana.

Background: Medication errors (MEs) by caregivers at home are a cause of morbidity and mortality, shortly after discharge from the hospital. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the rate and types of MEs at the homes of children discharged from a hospital in Ghana and to explore the factors associated with these errors. Design: This was a cross-sectional study of infants and children discharged from the hospital to review medication administration practices. Methods: Caregivers of children discharged from the hospital after at least 24 hours of admission were interviewed at their homes about medication administration practices. The study assessed potential harm associated with MEs made by caregivers using the Harm Associated with Medication Error Classification tool. The Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator regression were used to identify the variables associated with MEs. Results: A total of 95 children (mean age: 28.6 months, 52.6% female) and their caregivers were included. Overall, 65 (68.4%) children experienced one or more MEs. Out of a total of 232 medications reviewed, 102 (44.0%) (95% CI: 37.6-50.4) were associated with a ME. The top two errors, wrong time errors and errors in the frequency of dosing were, 45.1% and 21.6%, respectively. Understanding the information on the disease condition being treated and the medicines dispensed was associated with committing fewer MEs. The number of medicines prescribed was associated with a higher likelihood of MEs. Out of 102 MEs, 48 (47.1%) were assessed as posing potentially no harm, 26 (25.5%) minor harm, 15 (14.7%) moderate harm, and 13 (12.8%) serious harm to the patients. Importantly, none of the MEs were assessed as posing potentially severe or life-threatening harm to the patients. Conclusion: MEs in children following discharge are high, and systems should be developed to prevent these errors.

Mistakes by caregivers at home in giving medicine after children leave a Ghanaian children's hospital Why was this study done? Medication error in the home occurs when there is a mistake in how a person's medicine is taken or given. Examples of medication errors in the home could involve taking the wrong medication, taking the wrong dose, taking the medicine at the wrong time, or giving the medicine more or less often. Sometimes, when caregivers take care of children at home after they leave the hospital, they make mistakes with how medicines are given to the children. These mistakes can make the children sick or cause some of them to die. This research wanted to find out how often these mistakes happen in the homes of children who are discharged from a hospital in Ghana, what kinds of mistakes are made, and why they happen. What did the researchers do? We talked to caregivers of children within 7 days after they were discharged from the hospital. We asked them questions about how they give medicines to the children at home. We also used a special technique to find out which things might be responsible for the mistakes while they give the medicines to their children. What did the researchers find? We visited the homes of 95 children (average age 28.6 months, 52.6% girls, the rest were boys). In general, 65 out of the 95 children (about 68%) had at least one mistake made by their caregivers while giving them their medicines. In the homes we visited, 232 medicines were given to the 95 children with 102 out of the 232 (about 44%) having a mistake. The two most common mistakes made by the caregivers were giving medicines at the wrong time (45.1%) and mistakes with how often the medicine is given (21.6%). Caregivers who understood more about the sickness of their children and the medicines made fewer mistakes. Also, in cases where the doctors prescribed more medicines to the children, the caregivers made more mistakes when giving the medicines to the children. What do the findings mean? A lot of mistakes happen with medicines when children leave the hospital to their homes. Governments and regulatory authorities need to create better systems so that patients or their caregivers can report these errors. This will lead to actions being taken to prevent these errors from happening in order to keep children safe.

Association between culture and the preference for, and perceptions of, 11 routes of medicine administration: A survey in 21 countries and regions.

Medicines can be taken by various routes of administration. These can impact the effects and perceptions of medicines. The literature about individuals' preferences for and perceptions of the different routes of administration is sparse, but indicates a potential influence of culture. Our aim was to determine: (i) any association between one's culture and one's preferred route of medicine administration and (ii) individual perceptions of pain, efficacy, speed of action and acceptability when medicines are swallowed or placed in the mouth, under the tongue, in the nose, eye, ear, lungs, rectum, vagina, on the skin, or areinjected. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey of adults was conducted in 21 countries and regions of the world, namely, Tunisia, Ghana, Nigeria, Turkey, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Malta, Brazil, Great Britain, United States, India, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, France, Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, mainland China and Estonia, using the Inglehart-Welzel cultural map to ensure coverage across all cultures. Participants scored the pain/discomfort, efficacy, speed of onset and acceptability of the different routes of medicine administration and stated their preferred route. Demographic information was collected. A total of 4435 participants took part in the survey. Overall, the oral route was the most preferred route, followed by injection, while the rectal route was the least preferred. While the oral route was the most preferred in all cultures, the percentage of participants selecting this route varied, from 98% in Protestant Europe to 50% in the African-Islamic culture. A multinomial logistic regression model revealed a number of predictors for the preferred route. Injections were favoured in the Baltic, South Asia, Latin America and African-Islamic cultures while dermal administration was favoured in Catholic Europe, Baltic and Latin America cultures. A marked association was found between culture and the preference for, and perceptions of the different routes by which medicines are taken. This applied to even the least favoured routes (vaginal and rectal). Only women were asked about the vaginal route, and our data shows that the vaginal route was slightly more popular than the rectal one.

Evaluation of pharmacovigilance systems for reporting medication errors in Africa and the role of patients using a mixed-methods approach.

BACKGROUND: Reviewing the epidemiological profile of medication errors (MEs) reported by African countries and the systems put in place to report such errors is crucial because reporting plays an important role in improving patient safety. The objectives of this study were to characterize the profile of spontaneously reported MEs submitted by African countries to VigiBase; the World Health Organization (WHO) global database of individual case safety reports, describe systems in place for reporting these errors, and explore the challenges and facilitators for spontaneous reporting and understand the potential role of patients. METHODS: In the present study, we used, a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design involving a quantitative review of ME reports over a 21-year period (1997-2018) and qualitative interviews with employees from African countries that are members of the WHO Program for International Drug Monitoring (WHO PIDM). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize key variables of interest. RESULTS: A total of 4,205 ME reports were submitted by African countries to VigiBase representing 0.4% of all reports in the database. Only 15 countries out of the 37 WHO PIDM members from Africa contributed ME to reports, with 99% (3,874) of them reports originating from Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa. The reasons given for low reporting of MEs were weak healthcare and pharmacovigilance systems, lack of staff capacity at the national centers, illiteracy, language difficulties, and socio-cultural and religious beliefs. Some facilitators suggested by the participants to promote reporting included proactive engagement of patients regarding issues relating to MEs, leveraging on increased technology, benchmarking and mentoring by more experienced national centers. Sixteen of the twenty countries interviewed had systems for reporting MEs integrated into adverse drug reaction reporting with minimal patient involvement in seven of these countries. Patients were not involved in directly reporting MEs in the remaining 13 countries. CONCLUSIONS: MEs are rarely reported through pharmacovigilance systems in African countries with limited patient involvement. The systems are influenced by multifactorial issues some of which are not directly related to healthcare.

Education of pharmacists in Ghana: evolving curriculum, context and practice in the journey from dispensing certificate to doctor of pharmacy certificate.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the origin and evolution of education of pharmacists is important for practice and health system reforms. In Ghana, education of pharmacists started in the 1880s with the training of dispensers in a government hospital. Over the years, the curriculum and institutional arrangements changed and currently pharmacists are trained in universities. In this study we explored how and why education of pharmacists evolved in Ghana. METHODS: We used a case study design to systematically describe education of pharmacists reforms. Data was collected from October 2018 and December 2019 through document review and in-depth interviews. The data was analysed based on institutional arrangements and contextual factors influencing reforms from the 1880s through 2012, when the Doctor of pharmacy programme was initiated in Ghana. RESULTS: Reforms occurred around four main periods when institutional arrangements including the certificate awarded and expected roles were modified by educators and government. These are: (1) the Certificate of dispensing with dispenser-in-training and nurse-dispenser schemes (1880s to 1942), when dispensers were trained to assist doctors in dispensing or directly diagnosing and treating specific disease conditions. (2) the Diploma and Certificate of competency with the dispenser-in-training and pupil pharmacist schemes (1943 to 1960), where in addition to existing roles, pharmacists operated village dispensers. (3) the Bachelor of pharmacy degree (1961 to 2017), when pharmacists were trained mainly as medicines experts with a strong science base on all aspects of medicines from production, distribution and use; and over time with a gradual move to patient-oriented practice. (4) the Doctor of pharmacy degree (2012 to date), where in addition to existing roles, trainees are exposed to advance professional practice experiences. Important factors influencing the reforms included, health systems demands for village dispensaries and clinically oriented pharmacists, and harmonization with regional and international training and practice. CONCLUSION: Reasons influencing education of pharmacists reforms are context specific and are driven by historical experiences, national and international expectations as well as educators and regulators abilities to influence change. These reforms call for direct corresponding change in professional practice laws and regulation to enable pharmacists contribute fully to health care delivery in Ghana.

Iron-deficiency anaemia in children with congenital heart diseases at a teaching hospital in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Uncorrected congenital heart lesions in children keep them in a state of constant hypoxia with compromised quality of life and reduced life expectancy. This requires early diagnosis and interventions including prevention and treatment of the resultant anaemia. Unfortunately, congenital heart disease (CHD) often goes unrecognized and thus untreated. OBJECTIVES: We determined the occurrence of CHD in children below 15 years at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), assessed the prevalence of relative iron deficiency anaemia in that cohort and the use of iron supplementation in these patients. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study, using a structured data collection tool, by retrospectively reviewing patient records from December 2015 to January 2010. Data was also obtained prospectively from January 2016 to March 2016. RESULTS: Eighty cases (44 females and 36 males) of CHD were encountered. Tetralogy of Fallot was the most common (48.8%) CHD. Cases of cyanotic congenital heart disease were reported at autopsy. Of the 80 cases, 48 (72.7%) had signs of relative iron deficiency. Thirty (62.5%) of the 48 patients did not receive iron supplementation. In 14 cases, full blood count was not determined and yet 10 patients received iron at sub-optimal doses (<3 mg/kg/day) and one was given iron at 6 mg/kg/day. CONCLUSION: CHD is a common phenomenon among newborns at KATH. Use of iron supplementation was suboptimal. Compliance with guidelines on the use of iron as well as structures for early detection of CHD for definitive interventions are advocated.

Knowledge of medicine outlets' staff and their practices for prevention and management of malaria in Ghana.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain information about the staff resources available in licensed medicine outlets, assess their knowledge about malaria illness, current policy initiatives for malaria control, and the practices for prevention and management of malaria. SETTING: Hospitals/clinics and retail medicine outlets (community pharmacies and licensed chemical shops) from urban and rural areas in Southern and Northern Ghana. METHOD: A cross section of medicine outlets (n = 121) in the two geographic and socio-economically diverse settings in Ghana were sampled. Data on staff resources, their knowledge about malaria, and current initiatives for malaria control were obtained through structured interviews. Staff practices for prevention and management of malaria were assessed through observation of their practice during counseling, selection, and dispensing of anti-malarial. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Professional status of staff in the outlets, the proportion of staff with adequate knowledge on malaria illness and the initiatives for malaria control; skills and practices for the recognition, prevention, and management of malaria. RESULTS: 56% of the staff (n = 269) were non-professionals, whereas 44% (n = 212) were professionals. The hospitals/clinics had more professional staff per outlet than the retail outlets. One hundred and fifty four staff members, including those in-charge of the outlets at the time of data collection (n = 121), and others recommended by the in-charges or outlet owners (n = 33) were assessed. Of these, 83% knew the mode of malaria transmission, 81% could advise clients on practices for malaria prevention, 88% recognized signs/symptoms of uncomplicated malaria, and 64% those of complicated malaria. Less than 40% had adequate knowledge about current initiatives for malarial control, and only 21% could manage malaria cases as recommended by national guidelines. CONCLUSION: Most of the staff, particularly those in the retail outlets were not professionally trained. The staff assessed could recognize malaria illness and counsel clients on practices for disease prevention. The majority, however, lacked knowledge on the current initiatives for malaria control and the skills to manage malaria cases appropriately. In order to achieve public health objectives, interventions to strengthen skills and improve practices for malaria case management are needed. Training on current initiatives for malaria control should also be considered a priority.

Self-reported use of anti-malarial drugs and health facility management of malaria in Ghana.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the appropriateness of self-reported use of anti-malarial drugs prior to health facility attendance, and the management of malaria in two health facilities in Ghana. METHOD: A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 500 respondents who were diagnosed clinically and/or parasitologically for malaria at Agogo Presbyterian Hospital and Suntreso Polyclinic, both in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Collected information included previous use of anti-malarial drugs prior to attending the health facilities, types of drugs used, how the drugs were used, and the sources of the drugs. In addition, the anti-malarial therapy given and outcomes at the two health facilities were assessed. RESULTS: Of the 500 patients interviewed, 17% had severe malaria, 8% had moderate to severe malaria and 75% had uncomplicated malaria. Forty three percent of the respondents had taken anti-malarial drugs within two weeks prior to hospital attendance. The most commonly used anti-malarials were chloroquine (76%), sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (9%), herbal preparations (9%) and amodiaquine (6%). The sources of these medicines were licensed chemical sellers (50%), pharmacies (21%), neighbouring clinics (9%) or "other" sources (20%) including left-over medicines at home. One hundred and sixty three (77%) of the 213 patients who had used anti-malarial drugs prior to attending the health facilities, used the drugs inappropriately. At the health facilities, the anti-malarials were prescribed and used according to the national standard treatment guidelines with good outcomes. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of inappropriate use of anti-malarials in the community in Ghana is high. There is need for enhanced public health education on home-based management of malaria and training for workers in medicine supply outlets to ensure effective use of anti-malaria drugs in the country.