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Objectives: This study was designed to explore the awareness and attitude of the pharmacists working in the retail pharmacies toward the national adverse drug reactions (ADRs) system activities in Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a validated self-administered questionnaire was used in this study. The questionnaire was delivered to retail pharmacists (RPs) practicing in Baghdad during the study period (4 months). Results: Of the 200, only 176 pharmacists responded to the survey (response rate of 88%). The total number of usable responses was 123 (61.5%). The survey findings revealed that 79 pharmacists (64.2%) were not aware of the Iraqi spontaneous reporting system (SRS). The restriction factors which dropping the ADRs reporting among RPs were identified. These include lack of knowledge in the way of reporting (n = 41; 33.3%), the unavailability of reporting forms (n = 88; 71.6%), and unawareness of where these reports should be sent to (n = 88; 71.6%). Conclusions: The study showed that the RPs in Baghdad have a very positive attitude toward ADRs but unfortunately; they are not familiar with the Iraqi SRS. The study findings emphasize the serious need for special education programs to promote ADRs reporting among RPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Immunization rate is one of the best public health outcome and service indicators of the last 100 years. Parental decisions regarding immunization are very important to improve immunization rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between parental knowledge-practices (KP) and children's immunization completeness. Methods A mixed method has been utilized in this study: a retrospective cohort study was used to evaluate immunization completeness; a prospective cross-sectional study was used to evaluate immunization KP of parents. 528 children born between 1 January 2003 and 31 June 2008 were randomly selected from five public health clinics in Mosul, Iraq. Immunization history of each child was collected retrospectively from their immunization record/card. Results About half of studied children (n = 286, 56.3%) were immunized with all vaccination doses; these children were considered as having had complete immunization. 66.1% of the parents was found to have adequate KP scores. A significant association of immunization completeness with total KP groups (p < 0.05) was found. Conclusions Future efforts are required to improve immunization rate and parents' knowledge and practice. The study results reinforce recommendations for the periodic assessment of immunization rate and the use of educational programmes to improve the immunization rate, knowledge and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]