UnizikSpace Community: Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management

Prescribing Errors in Nigeria’s Healthcare System; Exploration towards Promoting Rational Prescribing for Improved Patient Care

2016-10-08T00:00:00Z

Title: Prescribing Errors in Nigeria’s Healthcare System; Exploration towards Promoting Rational Prescribing for Improved Patient Care Authors: Ogbonna, Brian O. Abstract: Rational prescribing is vital to achieving rational drug use but limited studies exist on the prescription practices, causes, and types of prescription error in developing countries. Prescription error is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. However, due to paucity of data, the figures could be alarming in developing countries. This narrative review described retrospectively the causes and types of prescription error in developing countries using Nigeria as a case study. A review of relevant literatures was carried out using PubMed, Medline, and Embase. It covered a period from January 1990 to December 2015. Hand searches of the references of retrieved literature; official search of libraries texts on literature reviews and discussions with experts in the field of reviews of the literature was conducted coupled with personal experience gathered from participating in and writing several reviews of literature. Ethically approved studies written in English Language were used for the study. The study lasted from October 2015 to April 2016. Study revealed incomplete prescription information, poor knowledge of therapeutics and prescription writing poor working condition. Understanding the trends is the first step towards effective prevention and control of the scourge.

Pharmaceutical care practices among registered community pharmacists in a state in southeast Nigeria: a frontier dynamics assessment

2019-10-08T00:00:00Z

Title: Pharmaceutical care practices among registered community pharmacists in a state in southeast Nigeria: a frontier dynamics assessment Authors: Nwafor, O. I.; Ogbonna, B. O.; Eze, U. I. H.; Anetoh, M. U.; Ejie, I.L.; Mgbemena, B. C. Abstract: Anambra State with over 5million people has prevalence of chronic diseases and drug related problems in a report from a survey by the Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, of the State Ministry of Health in 2015. It underscored the pharmaceutical care practices assessment among community pharmacists since they are usually first point of call by patients. This study assessed pharmaceutical care practices among community pharmacists in a State in southeast Nigeria. We assessed pharmaceutical care practice among registered community pharmacists. The study was a cross sectional survey of pharmaceutical care activities of community pharmacists resident and practicing in the state. Data were analyzed for descriptive and inferential statistics. A P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study determined the documentation practices of community pharmacist and know if they carryout referral, consultation, counseling and instrumental services. It identified the conditions or cases commonly encountered and managed their knowledge of pharmaceutical care, the influence of gender, age on the respondents’, additional qualifications and the influence of years of experience on the respondents’ score on the domains. Of the 87 community pharmacists who participated in the study 53.0(60.9%) were females. The mean years of community practice experience was10.71±6.9years. Only 45.89±20.57 community pharmacists’ document patient care and pharmacy practice activities, 45.82 document patients’ medication, and history taking, while 46.03±20.90 document pharmaceutical care process. The diseases commonly encountered were malaria 459.9±366.4, typhoid fever 437.0±75.20, hypertension 300.37±281, and diabetes mellitus 298.21 additional qualification had significant impact on respondents awareness of pharmaceutical care, p=0.05. Respondents’ age has no significant impact on the scores on pharmaceutical care domains. The result suggests that majority of the community pharmacists do not document their pharmaceutical care activities, which is essential in audit trail and a core component of pharmaceutical care. Malaria, typhoid fever, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus accounted for the highest disease burden in the area. They are aware of pharmaceutical care but lacked good knowledge of the technical aspects of the concept. The practices were not affected by respondents’ gender, age, number of years of experience and additional qualifications.

Health education and community mobilization in Nigeria; issues and prospects

2016-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Health education and community mobilization in Nigeria; issues and prospects Authors: Ogbonna, Brian O.; Ezenekwe, Lizette N.; Isidienu, Chika P. Abstract: The importance of health to national development and poverty reduction over the centuries, in that improving health status and increasing life expectancy contribute to long-term economic development. This article examined the state of health education and community mobilization in Nigeria’s health care delivery. The electronic search of relevant materials was carried out and those that met the inclusion criteria were used for the study. Health literacy is vital to power and support government efforts in promoting health for all. Study suggested that 80% of Africans use traditional medicines while 85% of Nigerians consult traditional medicine healers. Many developing countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the 1970s experienced remarkable and unacceptable inequalities in the provision and distribution of health services. This contributed to and explained the exploration of different approaches to improve health care delivery by international health organizations in the 1970s.

Evaluation of the Benefits, Quality of Services and Challenges to the Nigerian National Health Insurance Scheme among Enrollees in a Tertiary Teaching Hospital in Southeast Nigeria

2016-08-10T00:00:00Z

Title: Evaluation of the Benefits, Quality of Services and Challenges to the Nigerian National Health Insurance Scheme among Enrollees in a Tertiary Teaching Hospital in Southeast Nigeria Authors: Ele, G. N.; Ochu, U.; Odili, V. U.; Okechukwu, R. C.; Ogbonna, B. O. Abstract: Objective: Access to quality healthcare has been a prerogative of the middle and high socioeconomic class leading to the introduction of health insurance in developing countries to share the burden, reduce cost, and step up health care financing and coverage. This study assessed the benefits, quality of services and challenges of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Methods: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey of all eligible NHIS enrollees. The study was conducted between January 2014 and April 2016. Data was collected using self-administered structured questionnaire and analyzed for demographics, enrollees perceived benefits of NHIS, quality of services, challenges, and problems using descriptive statistics. Results: Study showed that 91.1% of enrollees believed that the scheme is beneficial while 92.5% had confidence in the services and believed that it has reduced payment of their hospital bills. A total of 74.5% of the enrollees indicated positive response to quality and effective service under the scheme. The challenges borders on poor funding which does not allow for full coverage of all the essential medicines and entire family members for people with large families. Delay in collection of enrollees’ card was another major setback. Conclusion: The National Health Insurance Scheme is beneficial to the enrollees and offers quality and effective services. However, poor funding limits its impact on the health benefits of the enrollees. The government needs to develop strategies to facilitate the operations of the scheme more efficient through improved funding and awareness campaign to improve coverage at all levels, boost the asset base, and improve services and efficiency.