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Background: While the role of pharmacists in the current pandemic control has been recognized worldwide, their coaching efforts to improve public's behaviors that could prevent COVID-19 transmission has been rarely investigated. Objectives: To assess whether pharmacist-based virtual health coaching sessions could increase the proportion of people who practised healthy social behaviors, to test whether this model can increase the public acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines, and to measure whether these behaviors could actually prevent contracting COVID-19. Method: In this randomized controlled trial, adults who matched specific criteria were randomly allocated into 2 arms. The active arm received 12 pharmacist-based virtual coaching sessions delivered via Zoom® over a month. Participants allocated to the control arm received no coaching. At the end of the last coaching session, both groups were asked to complete a structured questionnaire for outcome assessment. Participants in the active group were followed up to 2 weeks after the end of the last coaching session to check if they contracted COVID-19 or not. The SPSS software version 26.0 (IBM Corp., Chicago, IL) was used for statistical analysis. Results: Of the 300 participants who gave consent for participation, 295 completed the study (147 from the active arm and 148 from the control arm). The proportion of those using face masks, avoiding crowds, and willing to be isolated if infected in the active arm was increased from 51.70%, 53.74%, and 59.86% at baseline to 91.83%, 80.27%, and 96.59% at the end of coaching, respectively (all with P < .05). In addition, the proportion of behaviors, such as disinfecting surfaces, not touching the T-zone, and avoid sharing personal belongings with colleagues at work was increased from 36.05%, 27.89%, and 46.93% at baseline to 63.94%, 52.38%, and 87.75% at the end of coaching, respectively (all with P < .05). Avoid touching the T-zone (OR = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.24-0.89) and using disposable tissues (OR = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.18-0.77), each versus using face masks appropriately were more likely to get COVID-19. Conclusion: Pharmacist-based virtual health coaching could be a potential strategy to increase the proportion of behaviors that could curtail the spread of COVID-19.
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PURPOSE: Given their negative influence on community health, vaccine hesitancy and resistance are emerging challenges that require healthcare intervention. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of physician-pharmacist collaborative health coaching on rates of hesitancy and resistance for a COVID-19 vaccine. METHODS: After an initial assessment of rates of hesitancy and resistance for a COVID-19 vaccine was conducted, hesitant and resistant participants were approached, recruited, and randomized into an active and control group. Pharmacists-physicians collaborative coaching intervention was delivered to active group subjects over two months through Facebook live sessions. The outcome measures were assessed in both groups before coaching, directly after coaching, and a month after coaching. RESULTS: The proportions of hesitancy and resistance for a COVID-19 vaccine among subjects in the active group were significantly reduced from 64.3% and 35.7% before coaching to 20.1% and 7.8% directly after coaching, respectively. These proportions were further reduced to 11.1% and 3.3% a month after coaching, respectively. Furthermore, the mean scores for knowledge on, and attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine were significantly increased from 4.6 ± 1.8 and 4.1 ± 1.7 before coaching to 7.5 ± 3.1 and 8.9 ± 3.8 directly after coaching, respectively. However, the change in mean score of beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines among active group subjects was not significant. CONCLUSION: High rates of hesitancy and resistance for a COVID-19 vaccine were found in Jordan. These rates can be significantly reduced through online pharmacists-physicians collaborative coaching, which can also improve knowledge of and attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Although community pharmacists have been actively engaged in patient care, their role in deprescribing is still restricted. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a new educational approach designed to catalyze deprescribing in community pharmacies. METHODS: In this 4-month, randomized, controlled trial, 108 community pharmacies in Egypt were randomly and equally distributed to either the active or the control groups. Participants from the active group pharmacies received 31 deprescribing-related clinical case scenarios, designed according to the available deprescribing guideline and clinical experiences of an expert panel members, and delivered through WhatsApp. Then participants from both groups reported the incidence of potentially inappropriate medicines (PIMs), the frequency of deprescribing opportunities, and related pharmacist interventions. RESULTS: Pharmacists from the active group reported a considerably higher incidence of PIMs (20.87%) than that reported by pharmacists from the control group (5.03%). In addition, they made 1326 deprescribing-related interventions, of which 1022 (77.07%) were accepted and 641 (48.34%) were significant interventions. The proportions of cessation of drug therapy, reducing the dose, and persuasion of patients to accept deprescribing pharmacist interventions in the active group were 37.85%, 22.09%, and 10.63%, respectively. In contrast, 150 of 268 deprescribing-related interventions (55.97%) in the active group were accepted. The clinical value and type of deprescribing decision were statistically significant determinants for the acceptance of deprescribing decisions. The mean time needed to persuade the patient about deprescribing and the cost saved per patient across the active and the control groups were 5.09 ± 3.54 minutes versus 10.03 ± 6.19 minutes and 17.88 ± 9.60 U.S. dollars versus 4.49 ± 2.44 U.S. dollars, respectively. CONCLUSION: The intervention proposed improved the frequency and clinical value of deprescribing decisions.
