| Abstract [eng] |
Final master thesis of Vida Uscilienė, Raselė Veževičienė/research supervisor: dr. Kristina Garuolienė; Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Pharmacology – Vilnius Topic of the master thesis: The Research Pharmaceutical Information Sources used by Pharmacists and Patients. Goal of the work: to research and assess the sources of pharmaceutical information used by pharmacists and patients. Tasks: 1. To review the availability of pharmaceutical information to pharmacists and patients. 2. To determine the sources of pharmaceutical information used by pharmacists working at social pharmacies. 3. To ascertain the sources of pharmaceutical information used by patients coming to social pharmacies. Methodology: Empirical analytical method – the method of the random anonymous survey was chosen for the research. Two questionnaire surveys were performed, 215 pharmaceutical specialists and 335 patients coming to social pharmacies were surveyed. The obtained results were processed and their statistical data analysis was performed by using the IBM SPSS Statistics programme package 24.0. Results:It was determined most pharmaceutical specialists – 43,7% – used three sources of pharmaceutical information mainly in their place of work. 74,4% respondents used the official information provided by the national authorities, 70,2% – specialized websites for specialists. 57,7% – databases of the company they worked for. They looked for pharmaceutical information mostly: 74,0% respondents–in websites, 72,6% – in scientific magazines, 45,6% participated in scientific conferences. Indicating the most available sources about medicaments, 89,8% respondents referred to websites, 85,1% – to seminars organized by pharmaceutical companies. Indicating the least available sources, 67,9 per cent respondents assessed specialized databases, 57,2% – scientific information accumulated in libraries. The results showed 42,7% patients coming to social pharmacies mostly used three sources of information in order to find information about medical preparations. Indicating the most available sources of information, 66,3% respondents assessed a pharmaceutical specialist, 57,6% – the internet, 23,9% – friends and close people. A statistically significant relation was determined between the sources of pharmaceutical information mostly used by patients and assessment of availability of those sources (p<0,05). 85,1% cent patients trusted a pharmacist’s advice, 84,2% – a doctor’s consultation. Indicating the reliability of the internet, 34,0% respondents assessed the internet as a reliable source of information, 29,6% – as an unreliable one. A statistically significant relation was determined between the sources of pharmaceutical information used by patients and assessment of reliability of those sources(p<0,05). Conclusions:Pharmaceutical specialists improving their professional knowledge mostly look for objective and impartial information about medicaments in websites, read scientific magazines or participate in conferences. The most difficult way to find information is specialized databases and the easiest way is online websites. Specialists understand the importance of provision of pharmaceutical information to the patient that comes to the pharmacy. Most patients including those, who choose self-treatment, are sure they do not have enough information about the choice of pharmaceutical preparations. Most residents apply to the pharmaceutical specialist for help in relation with the use of medicaments because they think he/she is the easiest available source of information; moreover, he/she is the most reliable one like the doctor’s consultation. Those, who want to find desirable information quickly and any time, choose the internet, but sometimes there are doubts about its reliability. |
