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Background: Medicines are maintained at home for several reasons. However, irrational household storage of medicines is a universal public health problem, causing significant harm to health and the healthcare system., Objective: This study aimed to assess home drug use and storage practices among the residents of Bahir Dar. Town, Ethiopia., Method: A cross-sectional household study was conducted in three sub-cities of the town of Bahir Dar from July to October 2022. Multistage stratified sampling was used to select the households included in the study. Data on the prevalence of home drug storage, storage place, and self-medication practice, among others, were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 20., Results: More than half (57.9%) of the respondents stored medicines at home, mostly in drawers (35%). In this study, the widespread use of self-medication (44.6%) and drug-sharing practices (25%) were observed. Most of the leftover medicines (67.3%) were disposed of in the trash. Education status (AOR=3.8, 95% CI: 1.6-9.1), occupation (AOR=2.9, 95% CI: 1.2-7.2), income (AOR=1.73, 95% CI: 1.01-3.0), and the presence of chronic disease (AOR=3.2, 95% CI: 1.7-5.9) showed a significant association with home drug storage., Conclusion: Many study participants stored medications at home and bought them from pharmacies without consulting physicians. Disposing of medications into waste and practice of medication sharing were found to be high in the current study, suggesting that there is a lack of home drug utilization and storage practices by the general public., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interests.Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Patients have explicit desire for quality services when they visit health institutions. Patient satisfaction is a primary means of measuring the effectiveness of healthcare delivery. However, inadequate discovery of their needs may result in patient dissatisfaction. Patients who are satisfied with pharmaceutical care are likely to adherence, seeking for medical attentions and take medications properly. Providing better access to quality pharmacies is a way to improve patient satisfaction with healthcare services., Study Objective: The study was aimed to assess patient satisfaction with pharmacy services at Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (FHCSH)., Methods and Materials: An institution-based cross-sectional study design was conducted at FHCSH from 1 May 2021 to 30 October 2021. Data were collected by interview with structured questionnaires. Then the data were coded, entered, and then analyzed by SPSS version 23. The association between predictors and outcome was measured using bivariate logistic regression., Result: In this study, 384 study participants were included. Majority of the participants were males (55.37%, N =227). The overall satisfaction score of the participants of this study was 65.37%. In our study, clients showed greater satisfaction towards pharmacists' commitment to correct myths (92%), pharmacist availability (88.78), and cleanliness (87.8%). Multivariate analysis indicated physical restriction [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=6:95%; 95% CI (2.98, 25.9)] and rural residence [AOR=2.43; 95% CI (1.71, 9.6)] had significant association with pharmacy service dissatisfaction. Among the quality pharmacy service indicators, counselling on how medications work [AOR=9; 95% CI (1.48, 8.85)], keeping to dosage regimen [AOR=7.3; 95% CI (5.49, 11.06)], and advice on the current medical condition had greater odds of client dissatisfaction., Conclusion: The findings of the current study showed that patients' satisfaction towards outpatient pharmacy services provided by FHCSH is very low as it is indicated in their perception towards revealing written information about medication use, medication availability, medication storage, and instructions about medication side effects., Competing Interests: The author(s) declare(s) that they have no conflict of interest.Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Regimen change remains a significant challenge towards the achievement of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment success. In developing countries where limited treatment options are available, strategies are required to ensure the sustainability and durability of the starting regimens. Nevertheless, information regarding the rate and predictors of regimen change is limited in these settings., Objective: This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and predictors of changes in ART regimens among patients initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) at XX., Materials and Methods: An institutional based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among adult naïve HIV patients who had initiated HAART at XX between 2010. Data were extracted by reviewing their medical charts using a pretested structured check-list. The Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were used to describe the probability of ARV regimen changes while Cox proportional hazard regression models were employed to identify the predictors of ARV regimen modifications. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software, and statistical significant was deemed at p < 0.05., Results: A total of 770 patients were enrolled in this study of these 165 (21.43%) had their ART regimen modified at least once. Drug toxicity was the main reason for regimen change followed by TB comorbidity, and treatment failure. Positive baseline TB symptoms (aHR = 1.63, p = 0.037), and Zidovudine based regimen (aHR = 1.76, p = 0.011) as compared to Stavudine based regimen were at higher risk of ART modification. Conversely, urban residence, baseline World Health organization (WHO) stage 2 as compared to WHO stage 1, baseline CD4 count ≥301 as compared to CD4 count ≤200 were at lower risk of ART modification., Conclusion: The rate of initial HAART regimen change was found to be high. Thus, less toxic and better tolerated HIV treatment options should be available and used more frequently. Moreover, early detection and initiation of ART by the government is highly demanded to maximize the benefit and reduce risk of ART modifications., (© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IJS Publishing Group Ltd.)