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Lloyd Matowe

Publications and source records attributed to Lloyd Matowe.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Pharmacy education in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

The practice of pharmacy, as well as pharmacy education, varies significantly throughout the world. In Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, the profession of pharmacy appears to be on the ascendance. This is demonstrated by an increase in the number of pharmacy schools and the number of pharmacy graduates from pharmacy programs. One of the reasons pharmacy is on the ascendance in these countries is government commitment to fund and support competitive, well-run pharmacy programs. In this report we describe pharmacy education in 3 Middle East countries: Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. All 3 countries offer bachelor of pharmacy (BPharm) degrees. In addition, 2 universities in Jordan and 1 in Saudi Arabia offer PharmD degree programs. The teaching methods in all 3 countries combine traditional didactic lecturing and problem-based learning. Faculties of pharmacy in all 3 countries are well staffed and offer competitive remuneration. All 3 countries have a policy of providing scholarships to local students for postgraduate training abroad. The majority of students in Jordan and Kuwait are female, while the ratio of male to female students in Saudi Arabia is even. Students' attitudes towards learning are generally positive in all 3 countries. In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, most pharmacy graduates work in the public sector, while in Jordan, the majority work in the private sector.

Education, Pharmacy↗
PubMed2005

Self-medication with antibiotics and antimalarials in the community of Khartoum State, Sudan.

PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence of self medication with antibiotics and antimalarials in Khartoum State, Sudan and evaluate factors associated with self medication. METHODS: A pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 600 households, (1750 adult persons), selected from three cities in Khartoum State, Sudan, using a multistage stratified clustered sampling. RESULTS: One thousand two hundred and ninety three (73.9%) of the study population had used antibiotics or antimalarials without a prescription within one month prior to the study. Eight hundred and forty one (48.1%) of the respondents agreed that they have used antibiotics, 43.4% used antimalarials, while 17.5% used both. Self medication with either antibiotics/ antimalarials was found to be significantly associated with age, income, gender and level of education. Overall, self medication with any antibiotics or antimalarials was least common among the > or = 60 years compared to youngest age group (OR: 0.07; 0.04 -0.11) and most common among the female gender (OR: 1.8; 1.4 -2.4), the middle income group (OR: 3.7; 2.6-5.3) and the university graduates. Self medication with antibiotic was found to be significantly higher among females (OR: 1.5; 1.16-1.87), middle aged respondents aged 40-59 (OR: 2.1; 1.5-3.0) compared to younger respondents. Lower income and higher level of education was also found to be significantly associated with the increase risk of self medicating with antibiotic. Increase risk for self medication with antimalarials were, however, found to be significantly associated with male gender and younger age group of < 40 years and middle income earners and less educated respondents. The main reason that was indicated for the self-medication was financial constraints. The main source of medicines was the private pharmacies, which were regarded as a cheaper alternative to other primary healthcare sources. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics/antimalarials in Khartoum State, Sudan is alarmingly high. Self medication behaviour varies significantly with a number of socio-economic characteristics. Given the growing global resistance for antibiotic and documented health issues related to inappropriate use of such drugs, our findings has major public health policy implications for countries like Sudan.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Unaffordable drug prices: the major cause of non-compliance with hypertension medication in Ghana.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of hypertension is increasing in Ghana. In addition hypertension has been identified as the most common cause of heart failure, stroke, chronic renal disease and spontaneous sudden deaths in Ghana. A major concern arising from this increasing hypertension prevalence is that many patients in this relatively poor country find it difficult to afford the standard hypertension medications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate access to hypertension medication and assess non-compliance with hypertension medication in Ghana. METHODS: Patient interviews were conducted on all new patients attending the hypertension clinic at Komfo Anokye teaching hospital between December 2001 and April 2002. RESULTS: 93% of the interviewed patients did not comply with their medications. 96% of the non-compliant patients cited unaffordable drug prices as the main reason for non-compliance. CONCLUSIONS: Non-compliance with hypertension medication is a major problem in Ghana. Unaffordable drug prices appear the major cause. Effort should be made both locally and internationally to improve access to medications for chronic diseases in developing countries.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Pharmacy in Kuwait.

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Education, Pharmacy↗
PubMed2003

Interrupted time series designs in health technology assessment: lessons from two systematic reviews of behavior change strategies.

OBJECTIVES: In an interrupted time series (ITS) design, data are collected at multiple instances over time before and after an intervention to detect whether the intervention has an effect significantly greater than the underlying secular trend. We critically reviewed the methodological quality of ITS designs using studies included in two systematic reviews (a review of mass media interventions and a review of guideline dissemination and implementation strategies). METHODS: Quality criteria were developed, and data were abstracted from each study. If the primary study analyzed the ITS design inappropriately, we reanalyzed the results by using time series regression. RESULTS: Twenty mass media studies and thirty-eight guideline studies were included. A total of 66% of ITS studies did not rule out the threat that another event could have occurred at the point of intervention. Thirty-three studies were reanalyzed, of which eight had significant preintervention trends. All of the studies were considered "effective" in the original report, but approximately half of the reanalyzed studies showed no statistically significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that ITS designs are often analyzed inappropriately, underpowered, and poorly reported in implementation research. We have illustrated a framework for appraising ITS designs, and more widespread adoption of this framework would strengthen reviews that use ITS designs.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗