Department of Health Informatics, College of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 30;19(8):e0308187. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308187. eCollection 2024.
The advances in digital health, including mobile healthcare (mHealth) medication adherence applications (MApps), have been demonstrated to support medication adherence and improve health outcomes. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge and perception of the MApps among pharmacists and pharmacy students. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among 223 pharmacists and pharmacy students in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia between 1st and 30th April 2023. The survey collected information about the participants' socio-demographics, knowledge, and perception of the MApps. Among the 223 participants included in the study, 105 (47.1%) were pharmacists and 118 (52.9%) were pharmacy students. Most participants were females (72.6%) and aged 18-30 (70.4%). About half of the participants had poor knowledge of the MApps [pharmacists (48.0%) and students (42.0%)] and mainly encountered Medisafe (18.1%) or Pills (17.0%) MApps, respectively. Pharmacy students showed significantly higher knowledge of MApps (p = 0.048), especially the Pills (p = 0.022) than pharmacists. However, the pharmacists had significantly higher knowledge of MyMeds (p = 0.001) than pharmacy students. Most participants had a positive perception of the usefulness of the MApps (pharmacists, 79.0%; students 80.0%). Notably, over 85% of the participants expressed willingness to know and provide guidance on MApps, with over 50% willing to recommend it to the patients. There was no significant difference in perception between the pharmacists and pharmacy students (p>0.05). In conclusion, the study demonstrates limited knowledge with a positive perception of mHealth medication adherence applications among pharmacists and pharmacy students. Integrating digital adherence tools like the MApps into pharmacy training could significantly improve professional practice mHealth competencies, and optimize healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
数字健康领域的进展，包括移动医疗（mHealth）药物依从性应用程序（MApps），已被证明可以支持药物依从性并改善健康结果。本研究旨在评估药剂师和药学学生对 MApps 的知识和认知。2023 年 4 月 1 日至 30 日，在沙特阿拉伯吉赞地区对 223 名药剂师和药学学生进行了在线横断面调查。该调查收集了参与者的社会人口统计学、知识和对 MApps 的认知信息。在纳入研究的 223 名参与者中，105 名（47.1%）是药剂师，118 名（52.9%）是药学学生。大多数参与者为女性（72.6%），年龄在 18-30 岁之间（70.4%）。约一半的参与者对 MApps 的了解程度较差[药剂师（48.0%）和学生（42.0%）]，主要遇到 Medisafe（18.1%）或 Pills（17.0%）MApps。药学学生对 MApps 的知识明显更高（p=0.048），尤其是对 Pills（p=0.022）的知识高于药剂师。然而，药剂师对 MyMeds 的知识明显更高（p=0.001）。大多数参与者对 MApps 的有用性持积极看法（药剂师 79.0%；学生 80.0%）。值得注意的是，超过 85%的参与者表示愿意了解并提供 MApps 指导，超过 50%的参与者愿意向患者推荐 MApps。药剂师和药学学生对 MApps 的看法没有显著差异（p>0.05）。总之，本研究表明，药剂师和药学学生对 mHealth 药物依从性应用程序的了解有限，但认知积极。将数字依从性工具（如 MApps）纳入药学培训，可以显著提高专业实践 mHealth 能力，并优化医疗保健服务和患者结果。
