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
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant global health problem. Populations of different ethnicities show great heterogeneity in HBV genotype frequency distributions. A cross-sectional study was conducted during June–October 2018 to determine frequency of HBV genotypes among chronic HBV patients from Baghdad, Iraq. The method of detection was nested polymerase chain reaction system. Further, the study assessed the impact of HBV genotypes on serum level of liver-function tests: total serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase. Eighty chronic HBV patients were enrolled in the study. Six HBV genotypes were identified (A, B, C, D, E and F). The most frequently encountered genotypes
... Show MoreBackground: Obesity is a serious public health concern that has reached epidemic proportions; the prevalence, as well as the severity of obesity in adolescents is increasing at an alarming rate. A close relationship was found between weight status and dental caries. Thus this research aimed to assess the prevalence and severity of dental caries among overweight adolescent females in relation to physicochemical characteristics of stimulated whole saliva in comparison with normal weight adolescent females. Materials and methods: The total sample involved for nutritional status assessment is composed of 2678 females aged 13-15 years. This was performed using Body Mass Index specific for age and gender according to CDC growth chart (2000). The
... Show MoreBackground: Dental caries is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases of people worldwide that lead to the pain and disability across all age groups and still consider as a major cause of tooth loss. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and severity of dental caries and treatment needs among school children in Heet city. Materiales and methods: The sample included all school children at age of (12 years old) males and females from urban areas in Heet city. Diagnosis and recording of dental caries and treatment needs were done according to the criteria of WHO. Results: The prevalence of dental caries was (90.2%). The DMFS/dmfs values were (5.85±0.168, 1.57±0.146) respectively for the total sample. Females were foun
... Show MoreBackground: Despite the importance of vaccines in preventing COVID-19, the willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines is lower among RA patients than in the general population. Objective: To determine the extent of COVID-19 knowledge among RA patients and their attitudes and perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: A qualitative study with a phenomenology approach was performed through face-to-face, individual-based, semi-structured interviews in the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, rheumatology unit. A convenient sample of RA patients using disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs was included until the point of saturation. A thematic content analysis approach was used to analyze the obtained data. Results: Twenty-five RA pa
... Show MoreThis competition between competing forces, organized into axes with conflicting objectives, is reflected in all regional affairs and the goals and interests of countries within them, including Iraq. Among the most important aspects impacted by the repercussions of international and regional competition in the region is Iraqi national security, based on its vital importance in preserving the sovereignty and entity of the Iraqi state, protecting the interests and cohesion of the state and people, ensuring and defending their present and future, and interacting with various regional and international activities. The Kurdistan Region, as an important part of Iraq with its own unique characteristics, may be one of the most important regi
... Show MoreThe use of Conservatism significant impacts on the financial statements and thus on financial reporting which is produced by these lists so Rate Some of the professionals that the principle of accounting while Rate of others as a constraint, and brought this category based on the uses of this restriction sometimes used the accountant this restriction and especially with the uncertainties in the Sometimes it may collide with some of the cases in which the accountant may be forced to leave in custody as a result of emergence of economic events that gave rise to rights or future commitments should be disclosed.
The emergence in custody mainly was due to the uncertainty and its essence is to report on a
... Show MoreBackground: Peripheral giant cell lesion (PGCL) and central giant cell lesion (CGCL) of the jaws have a distinct clinical behavior.Giant cell tumour (GCT) is a benign locally aggressive neoplasm affects the long bones. Both lesions are characterized histologically by multinucleated giant cells in a background of ovoid to spindle-shaped mesenchymal cells. The WW domain-containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) gene is located at 16q23.1–16q23.2, a region that spans the second most common human fragile site, FRA16D, at 16q23.2.The Ki-67 antigen is a nuclear protein that is associated with and may be necessary for cellular proliferation.Ki-67 protein is present during all active phases of the cell cycle (G1, S, G2, and mitosis), but is absent fr
... Show MoreCommunicative-based textbooks are developed and disseminated throughout the country.
However, it is difficult for teachers who themselves have learnt English through the traditional
approaches to suddenly be familiar with CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) principles
and teach communicatively. Therefore, many teachers remain somewhat confused about what
exactly CLT is and others familiar with CLT but unable to achieve communicative classroom
teaching. Consequently, those teachers need to be introduced to the CLT principles and they need
training in how to put CLT principles into practice. Accordingly, this study aims to find out the
effect of combining video lectures and Kolb experiential learning on EFL student-t
In this research, the size strain plot method was used to estimate the particle size and lattice strain of CaTiO3 nanoparticles. The SSP method was developed to calculate new variables, namely stress, and strain energy, and the results were crystallite size (44.7181794 nm) lattice strain (0.001211), This method has been modified to calculate new variables such as stress and its value (184.3046308X10-3Mpa) and strain energy and its value (1.115833287X10-6 KJm-3).
In this paper, the researchers investigate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before a joint session of the US Congress on July 25, 2024. The researchers primarily aim at highlighting the ideology behind Netanyahu's speech by using qualitative research through the application of critical discourse analysis (CDA), which is employed here in in order to show how certain linguistic choices can manipulate and determine concepts related to power and ideology. The CDA method used is Discourse Historical Approach with the main focus on argumentation management through discursive strategies. The researchers adopt DHA by Wodak (2009) with focusing on the taxonomy of social actor representation by Van Leeuwen (2008). The study reveals th
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