Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Administration, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan, Ibadana, Nigeria.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2020 Mar 30;20(1):259. doi: 10.1186/s12913-020-05140-6.
Falls and fall-related injuries are a foremost health concern among older adults aged 60 years and above. Fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) use by older adults is one related cause of falling, and it is frequently used among older adults. Pharmacist-led counselling is an aspect of patient education that has been associated with improved therapeutic outcome and quality of life in high income countries with scarcity of information in low-middle income countries. This study therefore aims to assess hospital pharmacists' knowledge and counselling on fall-related medications using the list compiled by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare on FRIDs and orthostatic drugs (ODs).
A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 56 pharmacists working in a teaching hospital in Nigeria, between July and August 2019, using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics while chi-square test was used for categorical variables at p < 0.05.
Thirty-five (62.5%) were within 10 years of practice experience. Two-third (62.5%) of the pharmacists possessed an additional qualification to Bachelor of Pharmacy degree. Twenty-two (40.0%) were aware of the FRIDs and ODs list. In all, (89.3%) had "unsatisfactory" knowledge of classes of medications and specific medicines that could cause a fall. Most pharmacists 42 (80.8%) focused counsel on appropriate medication use, adverse effects of drugs and storage of medications. Knowledge score of both FRIDs and ODs were neither significantly associated with pharmacists' years of qualification (χ = 1.282; p = 0.733), (χ = 2.311; p = 0.510) nor with possession of additional qualification (χ = 0.854; p = 0.836), (χ = 2.996; p = 0.392). Majority, 53 (98.1%) believed that patients will benefit from effective counselling on FRIDs and ODs. About half (25; 51.0%) suggested training through seminar presentation as a measure for FRIDs and ODs sensitization.
A substantial gap in knowledge and awareness of FRIDs and ODs was noted among the hospital pharmacists. However, engagement of pharmacists on counsel that focus on medication use, adverse effect and storage was relatively better. Thus, there is a general need to create awareness about fall-risk-increasing drugs among hospital pharmacists, so as to help improve the therapeutic outcome particularly in the older adults.
跌倒和与跌倒相关的伤害是 60 岁及以上老年人首要的健康关注点。老年人使用增加跌倒风险的药物（FRIDs）是跌倒的一个相关原因，并且在老年人中经常使用。药剂师主导的咨询是患者教育的一个方面，与高收入国家改善治疗效果和生活质量有关，但在中低收入国家信息匮乏。因此，这项研究旨在评估医院药剂师对与跌倒相关药物的知识和咨询情况，使用瑞典国家卫生和福利委员会编制的 FRIDs 和体位性药物（ODs）清单。
2019 年 7 月至 8 月，在尼日利亚的一家教学医院对 56 名药剂师进行了横断面调查，使用自我管理问卷。使用描述性统计方法总结数据，而对于分类变量则使用卡方检验，p 值<0.05。
35 名药剂师（62.5%）的从业经验在 10 年以内。三分之二（62.5%）的药剂师拥有药剂学学士学位以外的资格证书。22 名（40.0%）药剂师知道 FRIDs 和 ODs 清单。总的来说，（89.3%）药剂师对可能导致跌倒的药物类别和特定药物的知识“不令人满意”。大多数药剂师 42 名（80.8%）专注于适当的药物使用、药物的不良反应和药物的储存。FRIDs 和 ODs 的知识评分均与药剂师的资格年限（χ²=1.282；p=0.733）、（χ²=2.311；p=0.510）或额外资格的拥有（χ²=0.854；p=0.836）、（χ²=2.996；p=0.392）均无显著相关性。大多数药剂师（53 名，98.1%）认为患者将从 FRIDs 和 ODs 的有效咨询中受益。大约一半（25 名，51.0%）建议通过研讨会演示进行培训，以提高对 FRIDs 和 ODs 的认识。
医院药剂师对 FRIDs 和 ODs 的知识和认识存在很大差距。然而，药剂师在关注药物使用、不良反应和储存的咨询方面相对较好。因此，需要在医院药剂师中提高对增加跌倒风险药物的认识，以帮助改善治疗效果，特别是在老年人中。
