Introduction: Although it is discouraged, community pharmacy customers can obtain oral corticosteroids (OCSs) without prescriptions from some community pharmacies in Iraq. Medication abuse is defined as the use of medication for non-medical reasons. Objectives: The study aimed to determine demographics, beliefs, and perceptions associated with the abuse of oral corticosteroids for non-illness reasons among community pharmacy customers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in fall 2018 in four provinces in Iraq. Customers of 19 community pharmacies asking for OCSs for themselves without a prescription were administered a paper survey. This study used the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to measure the relationship between the motivational factors and the abuse of OCSs. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationships between the use of OCSs for non-illness and six TRA factors: Normative belief, behavioral belief, evaluation of the behavior, motivation to comply, subjective norms and attitude toward behavior. Results: The study enrolled 141 participants (98 women and 43 men) taking asking for OCSs without prescription. Dexamethasone was the most commonly used OCSs (59.6%). Friends were the primary recommenders for corticosteroids abuse (28.4%). The main reasons for using OCSs were to increase appetite and gain weight (53.9 %). Approximately one-third (36.2 %) of the participants gained weight after using OCSs. The regression analysis of the TRA variables showed two factors were significantly related to the abuse of OCSs. Age had a significant inverse relationship with the abuse of OCSs and the "good appearance" belief had a significant positive association with OCS abuse. Conclusion: Some Iraqi community pharmacy customers use non-prescribed oral corticosteroids to increase appetite and gain weight. Improve body appearance represents the dominant incentive that urges people to use OCSs without prescription. Health officials and healthcare practitioners need to promote people's awareness about the risks of misusing OCSs through education programs and advertisements in public health settings, media, and social media. Article Type: Original Research
This study aims to identify how the Zakat Fund contributes to financing entrepreneurial projects; and the role that these projects play in achieving economic and social development, despite the importance that contracting projects have in most countries as the main engine of growth; however, they still face many challenges that In the forefront of which is the challenge of obtaining financing; in this regard, it is possible to resort to the use of Zakat funds in the Islamic economy as it is a funding source that is closely proportional to the characteristics and goals of entrepreneurial projects in achieving development;
 
... Show MoreThe interior spaces represent a true reflection of the concepts and values of humanity and requirements; were interested in current research ongoing changes that have occurred in those human values and requirements over time, even pat each time warp its values and its own requirements. Those changes, which receive Bdilalha the spaces linked by a renewal which guarantees the interior design of the spaces of sustainability and bio-coordinated. Launched search from an initial perception that those associated with the changes of the spaces through time that have not been subject to examination and supervision, they will constitute a continuing threat of losing the ties with the past under the pretext of modernization and mo
... Show MoreBackground: Diabetic is a chronic systemic disorder of glucose metabolism. That could be diagnosed using fasting and/or random plasma glucose and Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c). Several biochemical and microbial alterations of saliva could affect dental caries occurrence and severity among diabetic patients. The aim of the present study was to assess the relation of salivary glucose with severity of dental caries and Mutans Streptococci, among uncontrolled and controlled diabetic groups in comparison with non-diabetic control group. Materials and Methods: The total sample composed of adults aged (18-22) years. Divided into 25 uncontrolled diabetic patients (HbA1c > 7), 25 controlled diabetic patients (HbA1c ≤ 7), in addition to 25 no
... Show MoreThis cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study evaluated the knowledge, attitude and practice towards breast cancer and breast self-examination [BSE] among 387 [302 females and 85 males] educated Iraqis affiliated to 2 Iraqi universities. The participants were categorized into 3 occupations: student [71.3%], teaching staff [10.3%] and administrative staff [18.3%]. About half of the participants had a low knowledge score [< 50%]; only 14.3% were graded as [Good] and above. Almost 75% of the participants believed that the best way to control breast cancer was through early detection and other possible preventive measures. Most participants [90.9%] had heard of BSE, the main source of informatio
... Show MoreVariation in the numbers of pectoral fin spines and rays, pelvic fin rays, gill rakers on the first gill arch, anal fin rays, and the number of vertebrae of Silurus triostegus Heckel were examined in specimens from 16 localities that span its entire distribution range in the Tigris, Euphrates, and Shatt al-Arab rivers in Iraq. The mean number of the six meristic traits increases toward high latitudes with maximum and minimum values in the north and south of Iraq. Based on cluster analysis and PCA, the Mesopotamian river samples were clearly separated into three distinct groups. The upper Tigris populations were isolated from those of the middle and southern populations of this river and from those of
The purpose of the search definition on factors superior this whoever impact on the improvement the exploitation decision this detect on stock exchange markets assumption , and using questioners to data accumulate and the Iraq market of financial papers battleground to search annoy chose the eyeball extension (47) peoples from peoples employees on the market , and using the bought statistic program (SPSS) on input and analysis search data , and machinate the search outputs to their group of factors internal and external which impact on exploitation decision on financial papers markets , and the search commend on necessary rise the incumbency direction in the stock exchange
... Show MoreThe covid-19 pandemic sweeping the world and has rendered a large proportion of the workforce as they are unable to commute to work. This has resulted in employees and employers seeking alternative work arrangements, including the software industry. Then comes the need for the global market and international presence of many companies to implement the global virtual teams (GVTs). GVTs members are gradually engaged in globalized business environments across space, time and organizational boundaries via information and communication technologies. Despite the advancement of technology, the project managers are still facing many challenges in communication. Hense, to become a successful project manager still a big challenge for them. This study
... Show MoreBackground: Stroke is an acute neurologic injury and represents the 2nd leading cause of mortality worldwide, and also the most leading cause of acquired disability and morbidity in adults.
Objective: Effect and association between stroke and risk factors.
Type of the study: A retrospective study.
Methods: The study conducted on 312 patients in 2016, all data were collected from patients’ files from the emergency unit, which included basic demographic and disease characteristic, co morbid diseases, risk factors, final diagnosis.
Results: both previous stroke, ischemic heart disease was strong predictor of new
... Show MoreHeart disease is a significant and impactful health condition that ranks as the leading cause of death in many countries. In order to aid physicians in diagnosing cardiovascular diseases, clinical datasets are available for reference. However, with the rise of big data and medical datasets, it has become increasingly challenging for medical practitioners to accurately predict heart disease due to the abundance of unrelated and redundant features that hinder computational complexity and accuracy. As such, this study aims to identify the most discriminative features within high-dimensional datasets while minimizing complexity and improving accuracy through an Extra Tree feature selection based technique. The work study assesses the efficac
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