School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart 7000, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 16;20(2):1635. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021635.
In Saudi Arabia, the older adult population is growing and is projected to increase three-fold by 2030. Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are harmful to older adults' and have a direct impact on clinical, health and economic outcomes. Pharmacists have a vital role in medication tailoring for older adults as multidisciplinary team members. However, there is also a paucity of research regarding pharmacists' participation in detecting and avoiding PIMs use among older adults in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional, self-administered survey was conducted to assess the knowledge, practices, and attitude of pharmacists from seven hospitals and ten community pharmacies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The survey comprised three sections; (i) identifying participants' general characteristics, (ii) assessing their knowledge of PIMs use in older adults and (iii) examining the pharmacist's attitude towards the procedures followed in dispensing for older adults. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the survey data. A total of 157 community and hospital pharmacists participated in this study. Most of them dispensed medication weekly to older adults (85.4%), and 43.3% had relevant work experience of six to ten years. Though 44.6% of the participants were aware of PIMs that older adults should avoid, only 10.8% claimed adequate knowledge about PIMs. From the given three clinical case scenarios, a minority of pharmacists (21.7%) chose the correct answers, with a mean score of 2.38 ± 2.91 (95% CI 2.35-3.15). Participants who claimed to have knowledge of PIMs had a significantly higher mean score than those who did not, 4.59 ± 2.81 25 (95% CI 2.35-2.61). A minority of the pharmacists (14.7%) used screening tools such as STOPP, Beers criteria, or Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI) to detect PIMs in older adults. No statistically significant differences were detected when comparing the levels of knowledge of pharmacists with 1 to 5 years of practice to pharmacists with 6 to 15 and more years of experience ( 0.431). Pharmacists' knowledge, attitude and practices toward PIMs use in older adults in Saudi Arabia should be improved. The application of PIMs detection tools such as STOPP/START or Beers criteria currently has no place in day-to-day pharmacists' roles in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, concerned stakeholders should develop educational programs to improve pharmacists' knowledge of PIMs and promote the effective use of PIM screening tools such as Beers and STOPP criteria in their practice.
在沙特阿拉伯，老年人口不断增加，预计到 2030 年将增加三倍。潜在不适当药物（PIMs）对老年人有害，并直接影响临床、健康和经济结果。药剂师作为多学科团队成员，在为老年人量身定制药物方面发挥着重要作用。然而，关于沙特阿拉伯药剂师参与检测和避免老年人使用 PIMs 的研究也很少。本研究采用横断面、自我管理的问卷调查方法，评估了沙特阿拉伯吉达市 7 家医院和 10 家社区药剂师的知识、实践和态度。调查包括三个部分：（i）确定参与者的一般特征，（ii）评估他们对老年人使用 PIMs 的知识，（iii）检查药剂师对为老年人配药所遵循程序的态度。采用推断和描述性统计方法对调查数据进行分析。共有 157 名社区和医院药剂师参与了这项研究。他们中的大多数人每周向老年人配药（85.4%），43.3%有 6-10 年的相关工作经验。尽管 44.6%的参与者知道老年人应避免使用 PIMs，但只有 10.8%声称对 PIMs 有足够的了解。在给出的三个临床案例情景中，少数药剂师（21.7%）选择了正确答案，平均得分为 2.38 ± 2.91（95%CI 2.35-3.15）。声称了解 PIMs 的参与者的平均得分明显高于不了解 PIMs 的参与者，为 4.59 ± 2.81 25（95%CI 2.35-2.61）。少数药剂师（14.7%）使用 STOPP、Beers 标准或药物适宜性指数（MAI）等筛选工具来检测老年人的 PIMs。在比较 1-5 年实践经验的药剂师与 6-15 年及以上实践经验的药剂师的知识水平时，没有发现统计学上的显著差异（0.431）。沙特阿拉伯老年人中，药剂师对 PIMs 使用的知识、态度和实践需要改进。目前，在沙特阿拉伯，PIMs 检测工具的应用（如 STOPP/START 或 Beers 标准）在药剂师的日常工作中没有地位。因此，相关利益攸关方应制定教育计划，以提高药剂师对 PIMs 的认识，并促进在实践中有效使用 Beers 和 STOPP 等 PIM 筛选工具。
