Medicine and Pharmacy Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice regarding Artificial Intelligence Programs: Jordan and West Bank of Palestine.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) programs generate responses to input text, showcasing their innovative capabilities in education and demonstrating various potential benefits, particularly in the field of medical education. The current knowledge of health profession students about AI programs has still not been assessed in Jordan and the West Bank of Palestine (WBP). Aim: This study aimed to assess students' awareness and practice of AI programs in medicine and pharmacy in Jordan and the WBP. Methods: This study was in the form of an observational, cross-sectional survey. A questionnaire was electronically distributed among students of medicine and pharmacy at An-Najah National University (WBP), Al-Isra University (Jordan), and Al-Balqa Applied University (Jordan). The questionnaire consisted of three main categories: sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, practice of AI programs, and perceptions of AI programs, including ChatGPT. Results: A total of 321 students responded to the distributed questionnaire, and 261 participants (81.3%) stated that they had heard about AI programs. In addition, 135 participants had used AI programs before (42.1%), while less than half the participants used them in their university studies (44.2%): for drug information (44.5%), homework (38.9%), and writing research articles (39.3%). There was significantly (48.3%, P<0.005) more conviction in the use of AI programs for writing research articles among pharmacy students from Palestine compared to Jordan. Lastly, there was significantly more (53.8%, P<0.05) AI program use among medicine students than pharmacy students. Conclusion: While most medicine and pharmacy students had heard about AI programs, only a small proportion of the participants had used them in their medical study. In addition, attitudes and practice related to AI programs in their education differs between medicine and pharmacy students and between WBP and Jordan.

Lack of exposure to pharmacogenomics education among the health care providing students in the West Bank of Palestine.

OBJECTIVES: Evaluating the knowledge in pharmacogenomics (PGx) is the first step toward the implementation of PGx testing in clinical practice. This survey aimed to evaluate the knowledge of PGx testing among healthcare providing students at the top-ranked university in the West Bank of Palestine. METHODS: First an online questionnaire consisting of 30 questions regarding the demographic, knowledge, and attitude toward pharmacogenomics testing was structured and validated. Then the questionnaire was distributed to 1,000 current students from different fields. RESULTS: 696 responses was received. The results showed that almost half of the participants (n=355, 51.1%) have never took any courses about PGx during their university training. Only 81 (11.7%) of the students who took the PGx course stated that it helped them understanding how genetic variations affect drug response. The majority of the students were uncertain (n=352, 50.6%) or disagreed (n=143, 20.6%) that the lectures during university education described the effects of genetic variants on drug response. Although most of the students (70-80%) answered that genetic variants can indeed affect the drug's response, only 162 students (23.3%) responded that VKORC1 and CYP2C9 genotypes influence the response to warfarin. In addition, only 94 (13.5%) students were aware that many medicine labels include clinical information about PGx testing provided by the FDA. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded from the results of this survey that there is a lack of exposure to PGx education associated with poor knowledge of PGx testing among the healthcare providing students in the West Bank of Palestine. It is recommended to include and improve the lectures and courses regarding PGx as this will have a major impact on precision medicine.

Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in West bank of Palestine.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, and the major neurologic cause of disability in young adults. Its incidence and prevalence vary significantly between different ethnic groups and geographical regions. It is thought that MS is more frequent as we go further from the equator. In Palestine, there is yet no published data concerning its incidence and prevalence. So, in this article, we aim to study the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of MS in the West Bank of Palestine. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted from year 2010 to 2019 among MS patients in West Bank. Demographic and clinical records of concerned patients were collected from the database of the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Age, sex, onset of symptoms, first symptom, year of diagnosis, family history, and smoking were noted. The crude 2019 prevalence and incidence rate were calculated. RESULTS: We identified 1652 MS patients with 1074 (65.01%) females and 578 (34.99%) males. In 2010, the crude incidence rate was 1.96 cases per 100,000. Peaked in 2017 to 6.08, and then dropped unexpectedly in 2018 to 2.91 before it re-rose again to 3.54 in 2019. The incidence rates among females were higher than in males from 2010 to 2019. 802 and 730 patients were diagnosed at age groups (below 30) year and (30-45) year respectively, which comprises 92.74% of all patients. Males were slightly more affected at a later age group (30-45), whereas females were more affected at age group below 30. The most common symptom at disease onset was motor presentation (16.04%) followed by blurring of vision (15.74%). CONCLUSION: This is the first epidemiological study regarding MS disease in the West Bank of Palestine. Our results showed that crude incidence rate is increasing from 2010 to 2017. This is in part due to increasing awareness of the disease as well as the availability of diagnostic tools. Further researches will be necessary to closely monitor this increasing trend of the disease amongst Palestinian population in the coming future. Clinical features of the disease were similar to those described in the literature.

Evaluation of the need for pharmacogenomics testing among physicians in the West Bank of Palestine.

OBJECTIVES: Pharmacogenomics (PGx) testing optimizes pharmacotherapy and reduces interindividual variation in drug responses. However, it is still not implemented in clinical practice in the West Bank of Palestine (WBP). The aim of this study was to determine the need for PGx education and testing among physicians from different specialties in WBP. METHODS: This study used a cross-sectional survey that was administered to 381 physicians from different cities in WBP. The questionnaire consisted of 27 closed-ended questions that evaluate the exposure and attitude toward PGx education, the role of PGx testing in clinical practice, and the capabilities of physicians in PGx testing. RESULTS: It was found that exposure to PGx education is low, with most of the respondents (81.1%) answering that PGx was not an integral part of their medical education. The majority (>90%) of the participants agreed that PGx should be included in the medical school curriculum. It was also found that 58.5% of the participants agreed that PGx testing is relevant to their current clinical practice. In addition, most of the participant physicians (>60%) think that they are currently not capable of prescribing and making decisions for pharmacotherapy based on PGx testing. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that there is a high need for PGx education and implementation in clinical practice in WBP. We recommend adding PGx courses to the curricula of medical schools and going forward with the implementation of PGx testing in clinical practice in WBP.

Evaluation of the need for pharmacogenomics testing among physicians in the West Bank of Palestine.

OBJECTIVES: Pharmacogenomics (PGx) testing optimizes pharmacotherapy and reduces interindividual variation in drug responses. However, it is still not implemented in clinical practice in the West Bank of Palestine (WBP). The aim of this study was to determine the need for PGx education and testing among physicians from different specialties in WBP. METHODS: This study used a cross-sectional survey that was administered to 381 physicians from different cities in WBP. The questionnaire consisted of 27 closed-ended questions that evaluate the exposure and attitude toward PGx education, the role of PGx testing in clinical practice, and the capabilities of physicians in PGx testing. RESULTS: It was found that exposure to PGx education is low, with most of the respondents (81.1%) answering that PGx was not an integral part of their medical education. The majority (>90%) of the participants agreed that PGx should be included in the medical school curriculum. It was also found that 58.5% of the participants agreed that PGx testing is relevant to their current clinical practice. In addition, most of the participant physicians (>60%) think that they are currently not capable of prescribing and making decisions for pharmacotherapy based on PGx testing. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that there is a high need for PGx education and implementation in clinical practice in WBP. We recommend adding PGx courses to the curricula of medical schools and going forward with the implementation of PGx testing in clinical practice in WBP.

Knowledge And Attitudes Of Pharmacy Students Towards Pharmacogenomics Among Universities In Jordan And West Bank Of Palestine.

BACKGROUND: Testing by pharmacogenomics (PGx) aims to reduce the side-effects of medicines and to optimize therapy. AIM: To ascertain the knowledge and attitudes towards PGx among pharmacy students in Jordan and West Bank of Palestine (WBP). METHODS: This cross-sectional study focused on pharmacy students from five universities in Jordan and WBP. Students were asked to answer an online survey comprising 30-closed ended questions measuring the knowledge and attitudes towards PGx. RESULTS: The total number of respondents to the questionnaire was 466. Most (96.1%) respondents knew that genetic variations can affect the drug response. Most students stated that the total number of lectures mentioning PGx was fewer than three. Most (>80%) respondents answered that they knew that human genetics can affect the response, inter-individual variation, and ethnic variations in the drug response. However, their knowledge about US Food and Drug Administration recommendations regarding PGx testing of commonly used drugs was weak. Also, 60.3% of respondents stated that the information they received about PGx was insufficient. Most (>92.7%) students wished to know more about PGx and believed that PGx is helpful in choosing the appropriate drug. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy students had fair knowledge and good attitudes towards PGx. These factors could aid application of PGx in clinical practice in Jordan and WBP.