Pharmacists' knowledge of drug food administration and their appropriate patient counseling a cross-sectional study from Palestine.

Pharmacists have a responsibility in the treatment of patients. Interactions between food and drugs may lead to a loss of therapeutic effectiveness or drug toxicity. Our study's objectives were to assess pharmacists' knowledge of patient counseling with regard to informing the patient about taking the drug in relation to food, as well as community pharmacists' knowledge of any pharmaceutical instructions that must be given to patients when delivering the drug. The pharmacists were assessed using an interview questionnaire. The results showed a variation in the pharmacist's knowledge about the administration of the drug with food. The chief pharmacists had better knowledge of the proper food administration counseling than that of assistant pharmacists; the percentage of those who did not give the proper food counseling was 24 vs. 58%, respectively (P < 0.05). Only (21%) of pharmacists with more work experience provided proper counseling, while only 18.2 and 18.7% of pharmacists with moderate and low work experience provided proper counseling, respectively. The study showed the pharmacists' limited knowledge of drug administration with food and outdated counseling information. It is highly recommended that a continuous education system be encouraged and enforced by the ministry of health to update pharmacist's knowledge of dispensed drugs.

Premenstrual syndrome: consultation sources and the impact on women's quality of life.

Introduction: The main aim of this study was to explore the sources of consultation that women seek during premenstural syndrome (PMS), and to establish the association between the severity of PMS and how it affects the quality of life. Methods: Cross sectional study of 179 female patients, using an Arabic validated version of the shortened premenstrual assessment form, and a 7-item quality of life questionnaire that was developed by the researchers. The questionnaire was tested for validity and reliability via a pilot study before the initiation of data collection. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 19. Results: 179 women participated in the study, with more than half of them aged between 20-30 years old. PMS prevalence was 88%; patient's predominantly sought help from their relatives (51%), followed by physicians (34%). There was no association found between the severity of premenstrual symptoms and seeking consultation. PMS symptoms affected women's daily activities (p-value 0.039), their satisfaction with their general appearance (p-value 0.001) and weight (p-value 0.022), and affected their relationships with family members (p-value 0.001) and other people (p-value 0.002). Conclusion: PMS is a common condition that affects women and their quality of life in several ways. Physicians and primary health care providers must be more vigilant in detecting the presence of PMS.