Nouri Ahmed
Faculty of Medicine, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. 2025 Mar 1;102:100782. doi: 10.1016/j.curtheres.2025.100782. eCollection 2025.
Mobile health applications have become essential tools in modern healthcare, enabling professionals to access real-time drug information, clinical guidelines, and patient management resources. While globally embraced, the adoption of these apps in resource-limited settings like Palestine remains under-researched, particularly among community pharmacists, who are pivotal to the healthcare system.
This study explores the perceptions, awareness, and challenges faced by Palestinian community pharmacists regarding mobile health applications. It aims to assess the feasibility of integrating these tools into their practice to improve pharmaceutical care and patient outcomes.
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in 2023 among community pharmacists in Palestine. A self-administered electronic questionnaire was distributed via social media, targeting registered pharmacists. Data were collected using a structured, validated questionnaire addressing demographics, app usage patterns, perceived benefits, and barriers. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using SPSS® software, with P-values ≤0.05 considered statistically significant.
The study included 400 community pharmacists, predominantly female (65.8%). Pharmacists frequently used information resources for verifying drug interactions (89%) and dosages (98%), citing quick access to reliable information as a major advantage. Barriers included time constraints (92.3%) and concerns about patient trust (77.8%). No significant associations were found between demographics (e.g., gender, years of experience) and perceptions of app usefulness or trust. A strong positive correlation ( < 0.001) was observed between community pharmacists' support for mobile health applications and their perception of the applications' reliability. This indicates that pharmacists who perceive mobile apps as reliable are more likely to support their use in practice.
Limited app use among Palestinian community pharmacists impacts medication safety, patient trust, and care quality. Adopting mobile tools can improve efficiency, reduce errors, and align pharmacy practice with modern standards, highlighting the need for future research.
移动健康应用已成为现代医疗保健中的重要工具，使专业人员能够获取实时药物信息、临床指南和患者管理资源。尽管这些应用在全球范围内都得到了广泛应用，但在巴勒斯坦等资源有限的地区，尤其是在对医疗保健系统至关重要的社区药剂师中，对这些应用的采用情况仍研究不足。
本研究探讨巴勒斯坦社区药剂师对移动健康应用的看法、认识和面临的挑战。旨在评估将这些工具整合到他们的实践中以改善药学服务和患者治疗效果的可行性。
2023年对巴勒斯坦的社区药剂师进行了一项横断面在线调查。通过社交媒体向注册药剂师分发了一份自我管理的电子问卷。使用一份结构化、经过验证的问卷收集数据，该问卷涉及人口统计学、应用使用模式、感知到的益处和障碍。使用SPSS®软件进行描述性和推断性分析，P值≤0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
该研究纳入了400名社区药剂师，其中女性占主导地位（65.8%）。药剂师经常使用信息资源来核实药物相互作用（89%）和剂量（98%），并将能够快速获取可靠信息视为主要优势。障碍包括时间限制（92.3%）和对患者信任的担忧（77.8%）。在人口统计学因素（如性别、工作年限）与对应用有用性或信任的看法之间未发现显著关联。社区药剂师对移动健康应用的支持与其对应用可靠性的看法之间存在很强的正相关（<0.001）。这表明认为移动应用可靠的药剂师在实践中更有可能支持其使用。
巴勒斯坦社区药剂师对应用的使用有限，这影响了用药安全、患者信任和护理质量。采用移动工具可以提高效率、减少错误，并使药学实践符合现代标准，这突出了未来研究的必要性。
