The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of potential drug-herb interactions in patients with chronic diseases and identify factors associated with these interactions if present.
The study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study. It was conducted at a number of governmental primary healthcare centers which include outpatient clinics for chronic diseases between July and November 2013. Patients come to these clinics monthly or bimonthly to receive their medications for their chronic diseases free. The patients in this study were seen at these clinics and their medications were reported from the most recent prescription in their files.
A total of 400 patients agreed to be interviewed, 209 (52.3 %) were females. The most commonly used medications were metformin, insulin, and enalapril. Among the patients, 237 (59.3 %) were using 395 medicinal herbs. The most commonly used herbs were sage, anise and peppermint. In 51 out of the 237 cases (21.5 %) at least one potential drug-herb interaction was found. Male patients were more likely to have potential drug-herb interactions. Patients with potential drug herb interactions were older, having a higher mean number of chronic diseases and medications (P-value < 0.05). Only 133 out of 237 (56.1 %) users told their prescribers or pharmacists before using medicinal herbs.
Use of medicinal herbs is a common practice among Palestinian patients attending primary healthcare centers. A substantial proportion failed to disclose to their doctors or pharmacists about herbal products they used, therefore, the physicians and pharmacists are recommended to ask patients about the use of medicinal herbs to avoid any possible negative outcomes. Better counseling and communication between patients and healthcare providers is recommended.
The Practice Placement in Palestine Project is the result of collaborative efforts aimed at offering students fr om Lillehammer University College in Norway practical training in Palestinian refugee camps. The project brought the two cultures into close contact through which an exchange o f ideas, cultural values, and educational and social experiences took place. This contact aids in offering students educational opportunities that qualify them in their field of study and better t heir understanding o f Arabic and Islamic culture. This article offers explicit description of the project’s vision, components, theoretical frames, procedures, successes, and obstacles. The project is unique in its proposals, results, and prospects.
The Practice Placement in Palestine project is the result of collaborative efforts aimed at offering students from Lillehammer University College in Norway practical training in Palestinian refugee camps. The project brought the two cultures into close contact through which an exchange of ideas, cultural values, educational and social experiences took place. This contact aids in offeringstudents educational opportunities that qualify them in their field of study and better their understanding of Arabic and Islamic culture. The paper offers explicit description of the project’s vision, components, theoretical frames, procedures, successes, and obstacles. The project is unique in its proposals, results, and prospects.
Since the start of the second Palestinian uprising (Al-Aqsa Intifada), and due to the Israeli activities, curfews, closures, and military checkpoints imposed since 2000, the quality of social services rendered by Nablus city has been gradually deteriorating. Solid waste management in Nablus city was badly affected by these conditions, and this situation is negatively affecting health and damaging the environment. Most of these cases were due to reasons beyond the capability of the municipality with its limited resources. This study revealed that some of the important municipal solid waste (MSW) equipment had been damaged during the uprising. The workforce in the MSW system was reduced and certain MSW-related development projects and activities have been frozen due to the current conditions. The city's medical waste incinerator had been phased out and the number of special medical containers had been reduced from 16 to 10. Some MSW compressing trucks had been out of use with no substitute. Another important figure is the number of waste collection workers which decreased from 420 to 301, although the city is growing in premises as well as population. The created unsanitary solid waste transfer station is now a pollution source on its own, causing an ugly scene at the eastern entrance of Nablus city. There should be a comprehensive and urgent solution for this problem and the needed resources should be invested.
Street littering is considered an important environmental health issue in the Middle East. This problem is growing steadily and is attracting great concerns within the communities. The purpose of this paper, which focuses on Nablus district (Palestinian Territory), is to measure the perception and opinion of residents toward littering, in addition to studying prevailing attitudes and practices on littering. This was achieved using an interview survey approach. The influence of three socio-economic factors; level of education, age, and type of residence, on the littering behaviour of individuals was studied. As a result, possible remedial actions have been suggested. The data presented in this work can be considered as one piece of information, which can be compiled with other future data to design an effective litter control programrhe for Middle Eastern countries.
The aim of this study was to screen for carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria in Palestine and subsequently to identify and investigate the mechanisms of resistance. For a period of 6 weeks, all Gram-negative isolates were collected from six Palestinian hospital laboratories and were tested for susceptibility using 10 μg meropenem disks. Isolates showing resistance to meropenem were further investigated. The presence of carbapenemases was assessed by PCR. In addition, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, an efflux pump inhibitor assay and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were performed. Isolates producing carbapenemases were further investigated by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). In total, 248 Gram-negative isolates were collected from the six laboratories. Among the 248 tested isolates, 15Acinetobacter baumannii and 6 Pseudomonas aeruginosa were resistant to meropenem. One A. baumannii from Gaza produced NDM-2 and belonged to ST103. Thirteen of the carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii isolates possessed the intrinsic upregulated blaOXA-66 gene and one isolate carried blaOXA-51. All but one of the OXA-66-producing A. baumannii belonged to ST2; the remaining isolate belonged to ST183. One of the carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa was classified as VIM-4-producing and three were VIM-2-producing isolates. The three VIM-2-producing isolates belonged to three new sequences types (ST1562, ST1563 and ST1564). All of the carbapenemase-producing isolates were multiresistant non-fermenters. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on NDM-producing A. baumannii and VIM-producing P. aeruginosa from Palestine.
Background and Objectives: With the global rise in the use of herbal products; pressure is increasing on pharmacists to have more knowledge about herbal medicine. We assessed pharmacists’ dispensing practices, attitudes, and knowledge regarding herbal products. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among community pharmacists in north Palestine using a questionnaire. A convenience sample of 100 community pharmacists was included in the study. The mean age of participants was 33±11 years. Results: Dispensing of herbal products was common. The majority of participants (91%) believed that herbal products were beneficial and 61% believed these had fewer side effects than conventional medicines. Most participants thought they have good knowledge of herbal preparations. However, their actual knowledge in response to factual questionnaire was low. The lowest score was observed for herbal drug interactions domain. Conclusions: Although herbal products are commonly dispensed in Palestine, community pharmacists have poor knowledge about these medicines. Continuing pharmacy education in general is needed for community pharmacists to qualify them to provide a better pharmaceutical care.
Background and Objectives: With the global rise in the use of herbal products; pressure is increasing on pharmacists to have more knowledge about herbal medicine. We assessed pharmacists’ dispensing practices, attitudes, and knowledge regarding herbal products. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among community pharmacists in north Palestine using a questionnaire. A convenience sample of 100 community pharmacists was included in the study. The mean age of participants was 33±11 years. Results: Dispensing of herbal products was common. The majority of participants (91%) believed that herbal products were beneficial and 61% believed these had fewer side effects than conventional medicines. Most participants thought they have good knowledge of herbal preparations. However, their actual knowledge in response to factual questionnaire was low. The lowest score was observed for herbal drug interactions domain. Conclusions: Although herbal products are commonly dispensed in Palestine, community pharmacists have poor knowledge about these medicines. Continuing pharmacy education in general is needed for community pharmacists to qualify them to provide a better pharmaceutical care.
Objective : The objectives of the study were to identify the rate of using hair dyes among Palestinian women, preferences, motivations and attitudes towards their use.Methods: A cross - sectional study was conducted between May and July 2011. A self - admi nistered questionnaire was used .Results: Among 200 females interviewed , 149 (74.5%) said that they used hair dyes. Their reasons were to hide gray hair in 35 (23.5%), to improve the outlook in 36 (24.2%), and to change and to follow the new trends in 78 (52.3%). Natural dye s (henna) were the choice for 38.9% . The main reason behind the preference o f natural dyes was the belief they are safe r than chemical dyes. A small percentage used hair dyes during pregnancy, and 21.5% thought that hair dyes may cause cancer.
Conclusion: Use of hair dye is very common among females. The public should be informed about the risks associated with excessive hair dye use. Women should understand that natural dyes such as henna are not completely free from side effects. It is important to include information on the ingredients on hair coloring packs and mention possibl e side effects of both chemical and natural hair dyes .
Ethnopharmacological
relevance The use of
herbal medicines during pregnancy is common worldwide due to physiological
changes that lead to pregnancy related problems.
Objectives The aims of this study were to measure the prevalence and
predictors of herb use among a group of Palestinian pregnant women and the
possible influence of herbal consumption on pregnancy outcomes.
Methods This study was a questionnaire-based cross sectional descriptive
study. It was conducted in the maternity ward of a governmental hospital
between March and May 2012, a random sample of women who gave birth during the
study period were met and asked to answer a face to face questionnaire.
Results Out of 300 women, 120 women (40.0%) used herbs during pregnancy;
most women preferred to use herbs because they thought herbs are safer than
medications (82.5%), women based in their choices mainly on advice from family
or doctors (36.7%, 33.0%, respectively), 65.8% of them told their doctors that
they used herbs, 91.7% considered these therapies beneficial, and 99.2%
reported no side effects. The most commonly used herbs were anise (Pimpinella
anisum) (61.7%), chamomile (Matricaria recutita) (53.3%), sage (Salvia
officinalis) (55%), mixture of herbs (33.3%), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
(29.2%). Most women were using herbs on as needed bases. There were no
statistically significant differences between users and non-users of herbs in
all socio-demographic variables and pregnancy outcomes.
Conclusions This study found that the use of herbs during pregnancy is
very common among Palestinian women. Infrequent use of herbs during pregnancy
seems to be safe and beneficial. To provide the best care to pregnant women who
use herbal products, clinicians and pharmacist are recommended to stay up to
date with herb use and their safety in pregnancy. Not all women tell their
doctors about herbal products use, so the physicians are recommended to ask
pregnant women about this to avoid any possible negative outcomes on the mother
or the fetus.