Pharmacist Opportunities to Improve Public Self-Medicating Practices in the UAE

Objective: Self-treatment is an important aspect of self-care and one of the vital issues under debate in health care. Self-medication patterns vary among different populations and are influenced by many factors. The objective was to investigate the nature of self-medication behavior among the general public in the UAE and to explore public attitudes, beliefs, and level of knowledge concerning self-medication. Methods: A purposive sample of individuals involved in self-medication who belong to different age, gender, income, education level and health-seeking behaviors. A qualitative approach through individual face-to-face interviews was utilized to investigate participants’ behaviors and attitudes towards self-medication;factors influencing decision to self medicate, sources of information on medications, types of conditions for which self-medication is sought and types of medications used. Participant recruitment continued until theme saturation using content analysis. Findings: Three themes emerged from the data: Reasons for self-medication such as costs associated with visiting a doctor, convenience in visiting a pharmacy and perception of simplicity of the condition;Sources of information: pharmacists as a main source in addition to medication leaflets, family role and previous use, and medicines and medicines’ use: medicines’ use in chronic disease, use of antibiotics, use of herbals and supplements and medicines’ use in children. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that self-medication behaviors are common among the population due to several reasons. Inappropriate self-medication practices are evident and may compromise patient care outcomes. Pharmacists play a vital role in intervening to optimize the use of medications and patient education regarding self-care.

Fight against COVID-19: Survey of Spices &Herbs Used in North India

Treatments for the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic continue to be researched. Clinical trials with antivirals or immunomodulators have met with variable success. Traditional herbal remedies for health problems are popular for prevention and treatment of ailments especially in low resource countries. It is notable that morbidity and mortality from COVID were lower in low resource countries compared to the west. Other factors attributed to this difference include ethnicity, temperature, humidity, innate immunity, and nutrition. Objective: To identify the traditional herbs used for protection against COVID, in north India. Method: This questionnaire-based survey was conducted from August to September 2020 at five districts in North India. Participation in the brief interview was voluntary. Responses were recorded in a predesigned questionnaire (Annexure). Descriptive data analysis was done. Results: A total of 250 people participated in the interview. Majority (84.4%) of the respondents used mask. A total of 66.8% of the respondents confirmed using traditional herbs and spices. Most frequently used home remedies were decoction of herbs including ginger, Tinospora cordifolia, turmeric, black pepper, carom seeds. Turmeric milk was also popular choice. COVID positivity was present in family members of 4% (n = 10) of the respondents, of these four did not consume any herbs. Conclusions: This study provides an overview on the use of home remedies in North India. Given the scarcity of reliable information on home remedies and traditional medicines, further research is needed to develop robust evidence for their role in disease prevention and treatment.