Objectives: The study aim was to explore the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of Iraqi physicians regarding generic and locally manufactured medicines. Methods: A total of 124 physicians were involved in this cross -sectional study. The convenience sample was collected from five public hospitals in Baghdad. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed and collected in-person. Fisher's Exact Test was used to measure the association between physician years of experience, gender and categorical (perception and knowledge) variables. Results: Most respondent answers regarding the knowledge of generic medicines were incorrect. Only up to one-third of the participants knew that generic medicines are therapeutically equivalent to brand name medicines (26.6%), as safe as brand name medicines (34.7%) and required to meet similar safety standards as brand name medicines (12.1%). With respect to perception, many physicians had negative perceptions about generic medicines such as viewing generic medicines as lower quality (57.3%) and cause more side effects (41.1%) compared to brand name medicines. Regarding physician attitudes toward generic medicines, about two-thirds (64.5%) of the physicians were willing to prescribe low cost medicines; however, only about half (51.6%) of the physicians reported they offer generic medicines to their patients. Finally, 64.5% of the participants were not comfortable with pharmacist replacing prescribed brand with generic medicines. Conclusions: In general, Iraqi physicians have negative perceptions and attitudes about generic and locally manufactured medicines. Significant gaps were identified in the knowledge and perceptions among physicians regarding generic medicines especially in relation to efficacy and safety of generic medicines. Article Type: Original Research
The negative impact of oral diseases on the function, economy, and general health of the population is well‐documented. In the last decades, evidence linking increased expression of depression and oral diseases/conditions has significantly increased. The aim of this study is to assess the association between oral disease/conditions and self‐reported symptoms of depression individuals.
A specially designed questionnaire was distributed via social media for 1 week. It consisted of two main sections; the first section was dedicated to collect demographic variables and self‐reported symptoms
: Cigarette smoking is a lifestyle behavior that causes significant adverse health effects. Cigarette smoke contains chemicals, many of which are lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can lead to apoptosis and autophagy. To estimate the association of Cigarette smoking with the autophagy and immunity, technology of real time polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) for gene expression of (LC3A, LC3B, LC3C, myd88) was used. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was utilized to measurement the amount of TNF-α protein. The ratios of LC3A/LC3B and LC3B/LC3C were calculated to estimate the autophagy flux. The results indicate the expression of LC3B, LC3C and Myd88 genes in smokers is increased significantly (p
... Show MoreTo determine the association between cigarette smoking and oxidative stress, a study was conducted in the period from January 2020 to April 2021, at College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq. The Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was utilized for measurement the antioxidant enzymes including: Glutathione superoxide (GPX) and catalase (CAT) and the biomarker of lipid peroxidation Malondialdehyde (MDA). Also, the gene expression of Nrf2 and HO-1were determined by using RT-PCR technique. The results indicate lower level of both GPX and CAT (p ≤ 0.001) in smokers compared with non-smokers. While the result of MDA indicate higher level in smokers (p≤0.001) compared with nonsmokers. The Nrf2 and HO-1 gene exp
... Show MoreResearch in the field of English language as a foreign language (EFL) has been consistently highlighted the need for communicative competence skills among students. Accompanied by the validated positive impact of technologies on students’ skills’, this study aims to explore the strategies used by EFL students in enhancing their communicative competence using digital platforms and identify the factors of developing communicative competence using digital platforms (linguistic factors, environmental factors, psychological factors, and university-related factors). The mixed-method research design was utilized to obtain data from Iraqi undergraduate EFL students. The study was conducted in the Iraqi University in Baghdad Iraq. EFL undergradu
... Show MoreColorectal cancer (CRC) Patients showed different expression patterns of miRNAs which are involved in carcinogenesis in comparison to healthy controls individuals, miRNAs are involved in tumor progression and development of metastases. We investigate the expression profile of microRNA 320 and to quantify the expression level abundance among colorectal cancer patients in comparison to the healthy control group. The A total number of 60 plasma samples was collected from CRC patients along with 40 plasma samples from healthy controls and subjected to relative quantification using qPCR assay with a specified set of primers designed using s
... Show Morethe appearance and increasing of the young immigration within 2015, the researcher intuition as a mother and part of the society, and the role of the psychological attitude in enabling the individual to make decision, in the light of all the above come up the need for studying this problem.
The study aims at finding out:
1. The mental strain of the study sample.
2. The differences in mental strain of the study sample according to the gender, specification, the university, the study (private, not private), and if they have immigrated friends or relatives out of the Iraq.
3. The study sample attitudes towards immigration.
4. The study sample levels of attitudes towards immigration.
5. The differences in the sample attitud
The study aims at finding out:
1. The students' attitude towards the mixed learning at the university.
2. The statistically significant differences in attitude towards the mixed learning at the university according to the specialization variable.
3. The statistically significant differences in attitude towards the mixed learning at the university according to the gender variable.
The researcher has constructed a scale for measuring the students' attitude towards the mixed learning at the university.
After assuring its validity and reliability, the scale has been given to a sample of (100) students. The sample is selected randomly from (4) colleges of the university of Baghdad, (2) for scientific specialization and (2)for h
Objective: The study aimed to 1) measure the prevalence of depression and anxiety among Iraqi pharmacy and medical students at a number of universities in Baghdad using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and 2) investigate the association between various sociodemographic factors and students’ HADS scores. Methods: This study was based on a cross-sectional descriptive design in four universities in Baghdad, Iraq. Depression and anxiety were screened using an Arabic version of the HADS. An online survey was administered via Qualtrics to convenience samples of students at four colleges of pharmacy and a college of medicine between March and June 2018. Multiple linear regression was used to identify factors associated
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