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
Purpose: To use the balanced measurement approach as a strategic link for increasing the effectiveness of strategic planning in the direction of achieving satisfaction rates at Bisha University in Saudi Arabia
Design / methodology / approach –The questionnaire survey was used to collect the data of the study from the faculty members at University of Bisha.
Findings –Prove the assumption that the use of the balanced measurement approach - as a strategic planning tool - leads to maximize the satisfaction rates among faculty members at the University of Bisha.
Research limitations/implications- adopt effective strategic planning in order to achieve
... Show MoreAbstract A descriptive study to assess of factors that contributes of lung cancer. The study was carried out in Specialized Surgery teaching hospital, Ibin Al- Beetar hospital and Ibin Al- Nafees hospital for the period From January 2004 to October 2004 .The study aimed to assess the factors that contribute to lung cancer and to identify the relationship between the variables of the study with lung cancer. A purposive (non-probability) sample of (70) patients with lung cancer was selected for the study. An assessment form was employed for the purpose of the study. Test- retest reliability was employed through
Abstract The wavelet shrink estimator is an attractive technique when estimating the nonparametric regression functions, but it is very sensitive in the case of a correlation in errors. In this research, a polynomial model of low degree was used for the purpose of addressing the boundary problem in the wavelet reduction in addition to using flexible threshold values in the case of Correlation in errors as it deals with those transactions at each level separately, unlike the comprehensive threshold values that deal with all levels simultaneously, as (Visushrink) methods, (False Discovery Rate) method, (Improvement Thresholding) and (Sureshrink method), as the study was conducted on real monthly data represented in the rates of theft crimes f
... Show MoreThe use of different materials in the art of ceramics is considered a new form of contemporary philosophical trends. That was introduced to art as a result of societal changes and transformations and rapid technological development. And it plays a very essential part in the beauty of the artistic structure. The contrast of using different materials in ceramics is considered a part of the old historical achievements since the art of ceramics used to follow strict standards. Which does not apply to contemporary ceramic, Because recently, it has become free from any religious and social control and created a whole new intellectual context, heading to new horizons in which it works with the newly added materials as a strategy to ensure the a
... Show MoreThe transverse electron scattering form factors have been studied for low –lying excited states of 7Li nucleus. These states are specified by J? T= (0.478MeV), (4.63MeV) and (6.68MeV). The transitions to these states are taking place by both isoscalar and isovector components. These form factors have been analyzed in the framework of the multi-nucleon configuration mixing of harmonic oscillator shell model with size parameter brms=1.74fm. The universal two-body of Cohen-Kurath is used to generate the 1p-shell wave functions. The core polarization effects are included in the calculations through effective g-factors and resolved many discrepancies with experiments. A higher configuration effect outside the 1p-shell model space, such
... Show MoreWater supply projects (WSP) requires high plan information, specialized capabilities, capable human resources, and high administrative capacity. However, in the developing countries, particularly in Iraq, these projects experience a lack of a large number of these necessities, which shows the need to identify the critical success factors (CSFs). Accordingly, the objectives of this research are to investigate the CSFs for WSP and their significance among the construction (public and private) and education sectors. To achieve this, first we have carried out a comprehensive literature review of the CSFs for WSP. Second, we administrated a questionnaire survey to 260 construction experts
The present study aimed at examining the factors that affect the choice of A major among a sample of BA fe(male) students at the levels 3-8 in King Abdulaziz University (KAU), in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. To meet this objective, a descriptive survey method was used together with a questionnaire that consisted of 4 axes to answer the central question: What are the factors affecting the choice of a major at the university? Results have shown that the item that measured the students’ ability to choose the major ranked (First); it was concerned with the effect on the students' choice of his/her major in the university. On the last position and with respect to this effect came the professional tendencies and desires. Results have also shown tha
... Show MoreResidential complexes have witnessed a great demand in most countries worldwide, as they are one of the main infrastructure elements, in addition to achieving a developed urban landscape. However, complex residential projects in developing countries face various factors that could be improved in their implementation, especially in Iraq. Sixty-two experts in residential complex projects were interviewed and surveyed to verify these projects' failure factors,. Fifty-one factors were the main failure factors, divided into four main components (leadership, management system, external forces, and project resources). The Relatively Important Index (RII) is used to determine the relative importance factors and obtain the top tw
... Show MoreThe current study aims to identify soil pollutants from heavy metals The study utilized 40 topsoil (5 cm) samples, which adapted and divided into seven regions lies in Baghdad governorate, included (Al-Husainya,(Hs) Al-Doura (Do), Sharie Al-Matar (SM), Al-Waziria (Wz), Nharawan (Nh), Abu Ghraib (Abu) and Al-Mahmoodyia (Mh)). Spatial distribution maps of Nickel (Ni), Manganese (Mn), Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn) were created for Baghdad city using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The concentrations of four heavy metals in the soil of different area of Baghdad were measured and observed using XRF instrument. The result found highest values of Pb and Zn at the middle of the Baghdad in (Wz