TY - JOUR
T1 - Highlighting the pivotal role of the pharmacist in influencing health behaviours during emergency crisis
T2 - A lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Iskandar, Katia
AU - Hallit, Souheil
AU - Haddad, Chadia
AU - Mohammed, Irfan
AU - Fekihromdhane, Feten
AU - Jabeen, Rawshan
AU - Cherfane, Michelle
AU - Makhoul, Elise
AU - Akel, Marwan
AU - El Khatib, Sarah
AU - Amin, Rohul
AU - Brytek-Matera, Anna
AU - Pavlović, Nebojša
AU - Darwish, Rula
AU - Haque, Mainul
AU - Murugaiyan, Jayaseelan
AU - Eze, Shadrach Chinecherem
AU - Choueiry, Randa
AU - Egwu, Kenneth
AU - Khanafer, Nagham
AU - Mróz, Magdalena
AU - Molli, Vijaya Pavani
AU - Rockenbach, Tamires Furtado
AU - Sitarska, Joanna
AU - Tomas, Ana
AU - Salameh, Pascale
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, International Pharmaceutical Federation. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/1/21
Y1 - 2023/1/21
N2 - Background: The contribution of the pharmacist in influencing health behaviours and raising awareness of the impact of self-medication (SM) is valuable. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SM was triggered by multiple factors driven by the fear of becoming infected. This study aimed to identify the determinants of SM during the outbreak, with a focus on the role of social media, and to determine areas where the active contribution of the pharmacist needs strengthening. Methods: A pilot cross-sectional study using snowball sampling was conducted in thirteen countries. Results: A total of 2369 participants with a mean age of 30.62±11.57 years were enrolled in the study. The determinants of SM were 1) sociodemographic characteristics, including developing countries (ORa= 0.670; 95%CI [0.49, 0.91]); 2) communication channels, where Facebook was the most used social media platform (ORa=1.624; 95%CI [1.29, 2.05]); and 3) content and sources of unverified information, i.e. television interviews (ORa=1.357; 95%CI [1.03, 1.78]) and videos with someone confirming the effectiveness of medication used (ORa=1.353; 95%CI [1.06, 1.73]). The perceived risk severity was associated with elderly polypharmacy (ORa= 2.468; 95%CI [1.87, 3.26]). Conclusion: The pharmacist should collaboratively and actively contribute to the design and implementation of health promotion programmes and convert to positive the influence of social media.
AB - Background: The contribution of the pharmacist in influencing health behaviours and raising awareness of the impact of self-medication (SM) is valuable. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SM was triggered by multiple factors driven by the fear of becoming infected. This study aimed to identify the determinants of SM during the outbreak, with a focus on the role of social media, and to determine areas where the active contribution of the pharmacist needs strengthening. Methods: A pilot cross-sectional study using snowball sampling was conducted in thirteen countries. Results: A total of 2369 participants with a mean age of 30.62±11.57 years were enrolled in the study. The determinants of SM were 1) sociodemographic characteristics, including developing countries (ORa= 0.670; 95%CI [0.49, 0.91]); 2) communication channels, where Facebook was the most used social media platform (ORa=1.624; 95%CI [1.29, 2.05]); and 3) content and sources of unverified information, i.e. television interviews (ORa=1.357; 95%CI [1.03, 1.78]) and videos with someone confirming the effectiveness of medication used (ORa=1.353; 95%CI [1.06, 1.73]). The perceived risk severity was associated with elderly polypharmacy (ORa= 2.468; 95%CI [1.87, 3.26]). Conclusion: The pharmacist should collaboratively and actively contribute to the design and implementation of health promotion programmes and convert to positive the influence of social media.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Health behaviour
KW - Pharmacist
KW - Self-medication
KW - Social media
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85180679294&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.46542/pe.2023.231.676692
DO - 10.46542/pe.2023.231.676692
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85180679294
SN - 1560-2214
VL - 23
SP - 676
EP - 692
JO - Pharmacy Education
JF - Pharmacy Education
IS - 1
ER -