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Background: The global population of elderly has substantially increased in recent years due to heightened life expectancy and improved survival rates for numerous diseases, including cancer. Cancer treatment often entails complex regimens involving multiple medications. Additionally, advancing age is associated with a higher prevalence of co-morbidities, rendering older individuals more susceptible to inappropriate medications use and adverse drug events. Objective: We aimed in our study to examine the extent of Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs) prescribing and factors associated with more PIMs instances in elderly cancer patients. Methods: The data of this study was evaluated utilizing medical records of included study subjects and was conducted over more than 3 years period (January 1, 2019 to January 31, 2022) at King Abdullah University Hospital, Al Ramtha, Jordan. Beer’s criteria 2019 was used to evaluate and identify the potentially inappropriate drugs prescribed and used among elderly cancer patients. Results: A total number of 250 geriatric cancer patients were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 73.4 years. Males represented 50.4% of the total patients (n=126). The average number of medications reported was 10.7 medications. Eighty three percent (n=203) of patients had polypharmacy (prescribed at least five medications or more), A total of 179 medications were considered inappropriate according to the 2019 updated BEERS criteria and 71.6% of patients (n=179) received at least one PIM. The most common classes of PIMs were gastrointestinal medications (e.g., metoclopramide). Conclusion:According to this study, the incidence of PIMs in geriatric oncology practice is concerning, and extra consideration should be given to reduce any risks associated with this kind of prescribing in elderly cancer patients. Polypharmacy was found to be a major predictor of PIM prescription in this research

Addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) stands as a major global health challenge threatening humanity. Resolving this issue can be initiated through emphasizing the significance of AMR education among students in health colleges during their undergraduate studies. Hence, the aim of this study is to assess the pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding antibiotic resistance in 7 Middle Eastern countries. A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate pharmacy students at universities in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait between March 2021 and January 2022. The first section of the questionnaire gathered demographic information. The knowledge section comprised 7 questions. Subsequently, the questionnaire explored participants' attitudes (6 items) and practices (2 items) concerning antibiotic resistance. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the median knowledge score between different demographic groups. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for being more knowledgeable about antibiotic resistance. A 2-sided P < .05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 4265 pharmacy students were involved in this study (Egypt (2249), Jordan (n = 704), Saudi Arabia (n = 531), Lebanon (n = 401), United Araba Emirates (n = 130), Qatar (n = 129), and Kuwait (n = 121)). The median knowledge score for the participating pharmacy students was 5.00 (IQR = 4.00-6.00) out of 7, equals to 71.4% with 4th, and 5th year students and bachelor of pharmacy program students have higher odds of being more knowledgeable about antibiotics resistance compared to other students (P < .05). The majority of the students agreed that antibiotic resistance is increasing, they should be more concerned regarding antibiotic consumption and that government should create more awareness of antibiotic resistance, and that they should have enough

Anan S Jarab,1,2 Walid A Al-Qerem,3 Hanan Walid Hamam,1 Karem H Alzoubi,4,5 Shrouq R Abu Heshmeh,1 Tareq L Mukattash,1 Eman Alefishat6– 8 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan; 2College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 3Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman, 11733, Jordan; 4Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; 5Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan; 6Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine and Health Science, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, 127788, United Arab Emirates; 7Department Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan; 8Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, 127788, United Arab EmiratesCorrespondence: Eman Alefishat, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine and Health Science, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, 127788, United Arab Emirates, Tel +971 5 07293877, Email eman.alefishat@ku.ac.aeBackground: Poor adherence to heart failure (HF) medications represents a major barrier to achieve the desired health outcomes in those patients.Objective: To assess medication adherence and to explore the factors associated with medication non-adherence among patient with HF in Jordan.Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted at the outpatient cardiology clinics at two main hospitals in Jordan from August 2021 through April 2022. Variables including socio-demographics, biomedical variables, in addition to disease and medication characteristics were collected using medical records and custom-designed questionnaire. Medication adherence was assessed using the 4-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale

Background: Despite the availability of effective pharmacotherapy for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), health outcomes are suboptimal due to poor adherence to the prescribed treatment. Limited research has been conducted to investigate medication non-adherence and its associated factors among patients with RA. Objective: This study aimed to assess medication adherence and to explore the factors associated with medication non-adherence among outpatients with RA in Jordan. Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted at outpatient rheumatology clinics at two teaching hospitals in Jordan. Variables including socio-demographics and biomedical variables, in addition to disease and medication characteristics, were collected using medical records and custom-designed questionnaire. Medication adherence was assessed using the validated 5-item Compliance Questionnaire for Rheumatology. Stepwise Logistic Regression analysis was performed to identify the factors that are independently and significantly associated with medication non-adherence. Results: A total of 261 patients participated in the study, from which, 43.3% were found non-adherent. Binary regression analysis results revealed that low monthly income (OR= 0.239, CI= 0.130-0.440, P<0.01), the presence of chronic respiratory disease (OR= 2.727, CI= 1.059-7.022, P<0.05), lower medication necessity scores (OR= 1.177, CI= 1.10-1.259, P<0.01) and higher concerns about RA medications (OR= 0.917, CI= 0.860-0.978, P<0.01) were significant and independent predictors of medication non-adherence in patients with RA. Conclusion: Future pharmaceutical care and clinical pharmacy service programs should emphasize medications benefits and minimizing medication-related concerns by selecting safe medications and providing guidance on mitigating side effects, particularly for RA patients who have low income and those who suffer from other comorbid diseases.

Ahmad Al-Azayzih,1 Enas Bani-Ahmad,1 Anan S Jarab,1,2 Zelal Kharaba,2,3 Khalid Al-Kubaisi4 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan; 2College of Pharmacy, AL Ain University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 3Honorary Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; 4Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesCorrespondence: Ahmad Al-Azayzih, Clinical Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy-Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan, Email aaazayzih@just.edu.joAims of the Study: This study aimed to identify the prevalence and significant predictors of both potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and potentially omitted medications (POMs) events among geriatric patients with advanced cancer using the STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Persons’ Prescriptions) and START (Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment) criteria.Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included patients aged ≥ 65 years who were diagnosed and treated for advanced stage of cancer. Patients’ medical charts were evaluated to identify polypharmacy (≥ 5 medications) prevalence as well as potential PIMs and POMs incidents and their associated predictors. SPSS software was used to perform the analysis. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with dependent variables including PIMs use and POMs.Results: Electronic medication charts of 510 patients were evaluated. The average age of the patients was 73.25 years, and 264 (51.8%) patients were males. The average number of medications prescribed per patient was 10.3 (range– 2– 26). Polypharmacy was present in 85.9% of patients, while excessive polypharmacy prevalence was 52.2%. At least one PIM was encountered in 253 patients (49.6%), while at least one POM w

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the content available on Facebook pharmacy groups in Jordan regarding the perception of the pharmacists’ role during the coronavirus pandemic in Jordan. Methods: Researchers identified Facebook pharmacy groups through the search engine on the Facebook website. The main search keywords were pharmacy, pharmacist, pharmacists, and Jordan using both Arabic and English. Two researchers analyzed the posts and discussion threads on local pharmacy Facebook groups in a period between March 20th and April 3rd. A total of 184 posts and threads were identified for the purpose of the study. Results: Identified threads and responses resulted in three overarching themes: pharmacists having a positive role during the pandemic, taking additional responsibilities and services, and having passive or negative roles. A positive role was seen in pharmacists acting as first-line healthcare providers, creating public’s awareness regarding COVID-19, and being responsible for chronic medication refill during the pandemic. Taking additional responsibilities was summarized in home deliveries and involvement in industrial and corporate efforts to deal with the pandemic. A passive/negative role was seen mostly among hospital pharmacists not being proactive during the pandemic and by pharmacists trying to maximize profits during pandemic time. Conclusions: Pharmacists perceived their role as a positive role during the coronavirus pandemic. Not only they took responsibilities for their daily services during the crises, but they took additional responsibilities to assure patient safety and satisfaction.

Objective: The present study aimed to explore faculty (i.e., professors of various ranks) opinions and views regarding the pediatric content in courses taught to pharmacy students in Jordan. Methods: Purposeful sampling was used to identify faculty from ten pharmacy schools. Participants were identified through their institutions’ websites. After obtaining required approvals, twelve in-depth interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed and analyzed using NVivo 11 Software. Interviews followed a previously prepared and validated interview guide. The interview guide covered various aspects of pediatric undergraduate education and training. Results: Twelve professors (eight assistants and four associate professors) agreed to take part in the study. Qualitative analysis revealed four themes each with regard to respondents’ knowledge of the pediatric content and their students’ competency in dealing with pediatric patients. The emerging themes were: the lack of pediatric content in their current curriculum, the need for exposing students to more courses teaching pediatrics, and future aspirations to deal with this, and implications on practice. Conclusions: This study highlights the deficiency of pediatric courses in pharmacy curriculum in Jordan. Respondent believed that this will have negative implications on pediatric pharmaceutical care and treatment efficacy and safety. It was thought that adding more pediatrics topics to undergraduate curricula, offering pediatric specialized postgraduate education, and implementing pre-registration training could alleviate the current situation.

Objective: This study aims to assess the views and attitudes of the general public towards the current role of pharmacists in Jordan. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional quantitative questionnaire-based study. After a thorough literature review on public perspectives of pharmaceutical care services, a draft questionnaire was designed. This questionnaire was examined and discussed in a focus group of invited public members and was amended accordingly to reach the final draft. The questionnaire was administered using a structured interview technique in which members of the public were asked a series of questions by a trained pharmacist. The study took a place over a period of six months, from January to June 2013. Individuals were recruited from urban and rural areas of Jordan. Results: A total of 1214 respondents were interviewed during the study. Of the respondents, 67.8% were female. Most of the respondent were married (64%) and had a university degree (88.5%). Approximately half of the respondents (55.1%) had no previous knowledge of pharmaceutical care. A relative majority of respondents considered the most important activity performed by pharmacists to be dispensing medications (46.2%), followed by patient counseling (34.6%). The majority of respondents (86.4%) believed that pharmacists have a role in providing healthcare services, and 68% of respondents reported that in order to serve their needs, a pharmacist must consider the patient’s needs and engage patients in determining medication timing and options. Conclusions: The plurality of respondents believed in the importance of pharmacists in providing pharmaceutical care services. However, respondents expected much from pharmacists and felt that their current role was unsatisfying.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of off-label antibiotics in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and paediatric wards in Jordan.Methods: Data of patients admitted to the neonatal intensive care units and paediatric wards in King Abdulla University Hospital were collected over an 8-week survey between May and July 2012. Data collected in this study included patients’ age, weight, medical history, diagnosis and the details of antibiotics prescribed to each patient.Results: The study involved a total of 250 children (80 admitted to the NICU and 170 admitted to the wards). A total of 598 antibiotic prescriptions were issued for these patients (244 in NICUs and 354 in paediatricwards). The results of the present study show that off-label antibiotic prescribing to paediatric patients is very common. Off-label antibiotic prescribing to paediatric patients is related mostly to doses and indications, and rarely to age. The majority of admitted patients received at least one off-label antibiotic during their hospital stay.Conclusion: This study reveals the high prevalence of off-label use of antibiotic among paediatric children in Jordan. There is a serious need for robust and continuous educational programs to improve the awareness of paediatricians of guidelines surrounding the use of antibiotics in paediatric patients. Furthermore, true collaboration between paediatricians and clinical pharmacists towards safe and effective antibiotic prescribing in paediatric patients is crucial.