Background: Occupational exposure to hazardous drugs occurs in all aspects of anticancer drug handling. Proper recommendations and guidelines should be applied to control and reduce exposure. Objective: To assess pharmacists' knowledge and practice regarding the safe handling of anticancer drugs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at seven major hospitals in Baghdad City, Iraq, from December 2023 to February 2024. A pre-designed questionnaire was given to pharmacists who handled anticancer drugs in chemotherapy units. The questionnaire comprises sociodemographic data, knowledge of the safe handling of cytotoxic drugs and thoughts about exposure and risk, practices for safely handling cytotoxic drugs, and challenges for safely handling cytotoxic drugs. Results: A total of 126 pharmacists were enrolled in the study. Less than half of the participants (46%) received training on anticancer drugs. While more than a third (42.9%) of the pharmacists were handling more than 100 cytotoxic preparations weekly, the total knowledge score was 7.14, while the total practice score was 73.36, with less than half of the pharmacists having good knowledge (44.44%) or practice (48.41%). Pharmacists who received training had significantly higher total practice scores than those who did not. Pharmacists with more than 100 weekly preparations were more knowledgeable than those with 50–99 preparations. Conclusions: The majority of participating pharmacists had fair to excellent knowledge and practice regarding the safe handling of cytotoxic medications. However, there were some gaps regarding important knowledge and practice issues. To improve knowledge and practices regarding anticancer handling, training is necessary.
Objectives: In developing countries like Iraq, diarrhea was responsible for 70% of deaths among pediatrics. This study was designed to determine Iraqi mothers’ knowledge and malpractices associated with diarrhea management in pediatrics.Methods: A cross-sectional pilot study was done on a convenient sample of mothers in Baghdad – Iraq. Data collection was done using a validated questionnaire specifically designed for this study.Result: Most participants preferred to consult physicians or pharmacists about pediatrics diarrhea management. Breastfeeding was stopped by 19% of participants, whereas 35% of mothers who depend on formulated milk discontinued it. Only 30% of participants use oral rehydration solution therapy always as a
... Show MoreThis research aims to knowledge the extent of the application of Tuz General Hospital to the concept of tacit knowledge dimensions (mental models, intuition, experience, skill) and methods of acquiring knowledge dimensions (training, job rotation, work teams) and the measurement and analysis of the link and the kind of impact between the methods of acquiring knowledge and tacit knowledge of the Angels nursing in the researched hospital, and was the questionnaire primary means of collecting information adopted by the researcher that, the research sample of (90) individuals, including the Angels nursing, has been using the statistical program spss for the purpose of conducting statistical treatments, and through the diagnosis and m
... Show MoreBackground: The incidence of oral cancers is increasing all over the world. Early detection ofthis important public health matter makes them more amenable to treatment and allows the greatest chance of cure.The aim of this study was to investigate the awareness and knowledge on oral cancer among final -year dental students in Iraq. Materials and methods: Questionnaires were delivered to 160 final–year dental students in the College of Dentistry in Baghdad. The questionnaire focused on the awareness/knowledge of oral cancer, earlyand common clinical signs and symptoms andassociated risk factors. Results: It was found that 87% of students were aware of oral cancer. The followings were recognized as signs and symptoms of oral cancer: persis
... Show MoreGrowth is a multifactorial process influenced by genetic, nutritional, hormonal, psychosocial and other factors including the general health of a child. Epilepsy defined as a chronic condition characterized by recurrent clinical events or epileptic seizures, which occur in the absence of a metabolic or toxic disease the drugs that use in the treatment of this condition can affect patients growth due to their mechanisms of action. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of some antiepileptic drugs on growth (height and weight) in children with epilepsy. This work involved 51 newly diagnosed children with a different form of epilepsy (Generalized, absent and partial). Patients divided into three groups according to the treatment (group one
... Show MoreBackground: Antibiotic resistance is a problem leading to difficulty in treating microbial infections thatmay occur due to many causes. For the important pharmacist role as a reference for the information and theability to access to medications, they are vital members in lowering the development of antibiotic resistance,and also they support the proper use and control of antibioticsmisuse. Our goal is comparing the knowledge,attitude, practice of undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy students and their perceptions about thecausing factors of antibiotic resistance in Iraq.Method: A cross sectional study was conducted involving the final year bachelor and postgraduate (masterand Philosophical doctor) students from different private
... Show MoreBackground: Medical-surgical nurses are responsible of providing competent care to clients with a wide-array of acute and chronic health problems. This challenging task requires arming nurses with advanced competencies of health literacy to effectively educate their clients. However, evidence about medical-surgical nurse’s health literacy-related knowledge and experience is limited. Purposes: This study aimed to determine the level of the health literacy-related knowledge and experience among medical-surgical nurses.Design: A descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted among a total sample of 177 nurses who were practicing in medical-surgical wards in teaching hospitals in Iraq. A convenience sampling method was used to sele
... Show MoreThis study aimed to evaluate oral health (OH) and periodontal diseases (PD) awareness in the Iraqi population.
This study was a questionnaire‐based online survey of two weeks duration. The questionnaire was built using a Google platform and was distributed randomly via social media (Facebook and Telegram). The questionnaire consisted of a demographic data section and two other main sections for the evaluation of OH and PD awareness. Each response was marked with “1” for a positive answer and “0” for the other answers. For each respondent, answers were summed to give