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
Recently, there has been a notable surge in interest surrounding entrepreneurial orientation and strategic entrepreneurship. These concepts are particularly relevant due to their modern characteristics that aid in adapting to the environment. They also play a crucial role in improving production, service, and technological processes to sustain value, minimize competition, and drive ongoing enhancements, ultimately leading to a position of leadership within public companies. Therefore, the primary focus of this research was to examine the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on achieving strategic entrepreneurship. This influence is further mediated by the presence Iraqi Ministry of Agric
... Show MoreBackground: Pain and the usage of local anesthetic agents are still real problem in pediatric dentistry, for these reasons, the use of minimal invasive dentistry (MID) in regard to the patient comfort is important especially for children, anxious and uncooperative patients. Chemomechanical caries removal (CMCR) methods involve the selective removal of the carious dentine hence it avoided the painful removal of the sound dentine and the anxiety resulted due to the vibration of the hand piece which is also decreased thus it appears to be more acceptable and comfortable to the patient. Aims of this study: This study was conducted among group of children to assess and compare the anxiety rating scale (during and after treatment) between the
... Show MoreIntroduction: Sleep, an essential therapeutic part of human physiology, Sleep problems was widespread among students in medical colleges, and excessive stress and the pressure of holding grades can affect their sleep quality. The relationship between sleep, stress and cognition/learning is far more complex than perceived. Material and Method: Cross sectional study was conducted in Al-Kindy College of Medicine, during the period from (2022 to 2023) academic year. The electronic questionnaire was distributed among all students. Analysis of data was carried out using IBM SPSS version 24. Results: A total of (500) medical students' online surveys were analyzed from AL-Kindy College of Medicine, The highest number of participants was fro
... Show MoreBackground:The referral system constitutes a key element of health system. Effective referral system between different levels of health care delivery represents a cornerstone in addressing patients’ health needs.
Objectives:To assess the referral system Baghdad/ Al-Rusafa Health Directorate by evaluation the referral pattern and identify the quality of the referral letters and feedback reports.
Type of the study: This cross-sectional study .
Methodology : It was conducted in5PHCC in from 1st July 2015 - 31st December 2015 at Bagdad/Al-Rusafa health directorate. The study population (sampled population) included all ref
... Show Moreيعتقد البعض ان مفهوم العلم يعني الآلات والاجهزة العلمية (تقنيات التعليم) وهي لا تختلف عن مفهوم تكنولوجيا المعلومات , ويعد هذا الاعتقاد خاطئ , لان العلم هو بناء المعرفة العلمية المنظمة والتي يتم التوصل اليها عن طريق البحث العلمي , اما تكنولوجيا المعلومات فهي "التطبيقات العملية للمعرفة العلمية في مختلف المجالات ذات الفائدة المباشرة بحياة الانسان, او هي النواحي التطبيقية للعلم وما يرتبط بها من آلات واجهزة".
The aim of this study was to identify the rate of return of the stock through the financial information disclosed by the financial statements of companies both services and insurance included in Iraqi market for securities . The study used a descriptive statistical methods and the correlation matrix for the independent factors , in addition to a regression model for data analysis and hypothesis . Model included a number of independent variables , which was measured in the size of company (sales or revenue) , and the leverage , in addition to the structure of assets and the book value of owners' equity in the company , as well as the general price index .Based on the data of (11)companies and for three years, showed the result
... Show MoreThe present research deals with the spatial variance analysis in Jwartadistrict and conducting a comparison on the spatial and seasonal changes of the vegetation cover between (2007-2013) in order to deduce the relationship between the vegetation density and the areas which are exposed to the risk of water erosion by using Plant Variation Index NDVI) C (coefficient and by using Satellite images of Landsat satellite which are taken in 2/7/2007 and Satellite images of Landsat satellite taken in 11/1/ 2013, the programs of remote sensitivity and the Geographic Information Systems.
The study reveals that there is a variance in the density of vegetation cover of the area under study betwee 2007 and 2013. Howev
... Show MoreThis manuscript studied the effect of U-CFRP wrapped sheet anchorage on the flexural performance of unbonded post-tensioned PC members subjected to partial strand damage and strengthened using CFRP Near-Surface Mounting techniques. The program includes six girders as a control girder, a girder with strand damage of 14.2%, and four girders strengthened by CFRP laminates using the NSM technique with and without U-CFRP wrapped sheet anchorages. The testing results show that the strand damage of 14.2% has reduced the flexural strength of the girder by 5.71%. The NSM-CFRP laminate has a significant effect on flexural strength by 17.4%. On the other hand, the application of end U-CFRP wrapped sheet anchorages improves flexural
... Show MoreBackground:Wilson’s disease (WD) is an inherited
disorder of copper metabolism that is characterized
by tremendous variation in the clinical presentation.
Objective: To assess demographic distribution,
clinical presentations, diagnostic evaluation, and any
association between clinical presentations and other
studied variables of a sample of Iraqi patients with
WD.
Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study with
analytic elements was conducted during 2011, from
the 1st of February till the 10th of June. The sampling
method was a convenient non-random one, carried
out through consecutive pooling of registered WD
patients. A questionnaire-form paper had been
developed for the process of data col