Highlighting the pivotal role of the pharmacist in influencing health behaviours during emergency crisis: A lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

  • Katia Iskandar Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon & INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
  • Souheil Hallit School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh, Lebanon & Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon & Applied Science Research Center, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan
  • Chadia Haddad INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon & Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon & Department of Medical sciences, School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon
  • Irfan Mohammed Department of Restorative Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil
  • Feten Fekih-Romdhane Department of Psychiatry “Ibn Omrane”, Razi hospital, Manouba, Tunisia & Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia
  • Rawshan Jabeen Department of Research & Development, Children's Hospital Karachi, Pakistan
  • Michelle Cherfane INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon & Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon
  • Elise Makhoul Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
  • Marwan Akel INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
  • Sarah El Khatib INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon & Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon
  • Rohul Amin James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Anna Brytek-Matera Eating Behavior Laboratory (EAT Lab), Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
  • Nebojša Pavlovic Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova, Serbia
  • Rula Darwish Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
  • Mainul Haque Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (National Defence University of Malaysia), Kem Perdana Sungai Besi, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
  • Jayaseelan Murugaiyan Department of Biological Sciences, SRM University AP, Andhra Pradesh, India
  • Shadrach Chinecherem Eze Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi Benue State, Nigeria
  • Randa Choueiry Department of Medicinal Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
  • Kenneth Egwu Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
  • Nagham Khanafer Unité d’hygiène, épidémiologie et prévention, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France & Equipe PHE3ID, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI), Inserm U1111, CNRS UMR5308, ENS de Lyon, Université de Lyon1, Lyon, France
  • Magdalena Mróz Eating Behavior Laboratory (EAT Lab), Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
  • Vijaya Pavani Molli Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Temple University Maurice H Kornberg, Philadelphia, United States
  • Tamires Furtado Rockenbach Department of Health Surveillance of Pelotas, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil
  • Joanna Sitarska Eating Behavior Laboratory (EAT Lab), Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
  • Ana Tomas Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova, Serbia
  • Pascale Salameh INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon & Applied Science Research Center, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan & Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon & Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia, Cyprus

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2023.231.676692

Keywords:

COVID-19, Health behaviour, Pharmacist, Self-medication, Social media

Abstract

Background: The contribution of the pharmacist in influencing health behaviours and raising awareness of the impact of self-medication (SM) is valuable. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SM was triggered by multiple factors driven by the fear of becoming infected. This study aimed to identify the determinants of SM during the outbreak, with a focus on the role of social media, and to determine areas where the active contribution of the pharmacist needs strengthening.

Methods: A pilot cross-sectional study using snowball sampling was conducted in thirteen countries.

Results: A total of 2369 participants with a mean age of 30.62±11.57 years were enrolled in the study. The determinants of SM were 1) sociodemographic characteristics, including developing countries (ORa= 0.670; 95%CI [0.49, 0.91]); 2) communication channels, where Facebook was the most used social media platform (ORa=1.624; 95%CI [1.29, 2.05]); and 3) content and sources of unverified information, i.e. television interviews (ORa=1.357; 95%CI [1.03, 1.78]) and videos with someone confirming the effectiveness of medication used (ORa=1.353; 95%CI [1.06, 1.73]). The perceived risk severity was associated with elderly polypharmacy (ORa= 2.468; 95%CI [1.87, 3.26]).

Conclusion: The pharmacist should collaboratively and actively contribute to the design and implementation of health promotion programmes and convert to positive the influence of social media.

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12-11-2023

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Iskandar, K., Hallit, S., Haddad, C., Mohammed, I., Fekih-Romdhane, F., Jabeen, R., Cherfane, M., Makhoul, E., Akel, M., El Khatib, S., Amin, R., Brytek-Matera, A., Pavlovic, N., Darwish, R., Haque, M., Murugaiyan, J., Chinecherem Eze, S., Choueiry, R., Egwu, K., Khanafer, N., Mróz, M., Pavani Molli, V., Furtado Rockenbach, T., Sitarska, J., Tomas, A., & Salameh, P. (2023). Highlighting the pivotal role of the pharmacist in influencing health behaviours during emergency crisis: A lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmacy Education, 23(1), p. 676–692. https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2023.231.676692

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Vol. 23 No. 1 (2023)

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Research Article

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