Background Community drug retail outlets (CDROs) are among the initial healthcare facilities where pharmacists play a crucial role in preventing and managing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Therefore, this study assessed pharmacists’ level of involvement and barriers in the provision of health promotion for noncommunicable diseases at CDROs in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A community-based multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacists in Northwest Ethiopia from April to June 2022. Data was collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire, and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26. The level of involvement mean score difference among pharmacists was investigated using an independent samples t-test and a one-way ANOVA. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between pharmacists’ level of involvement and other variables. A p-value < 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval (CI) was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 285 (94.4%) participants participated in the study out of 302 approached samples. Overall, more than half (58.9%) of the participants showed a high level of involvement in health promotion. Pharmacists who had a degree and/or above (AOR = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01–0.63; p < 0.001) and served a lower number of clients per day (AOR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.04–94; p = 0.042) were less likely to have low involvement in health promotion services. Pharmacists who worked fewer hours per day (AOR = 3.65, 95% CI: 1.79–7.48; p = 0.005) were more likely to have low involvement. Lack of an appropriate area in the CDROs (52.1%) and lack of coordination with other healthcare providers (43.6%) were the most reported barriers to the provision of health promotion. Conclusion Most pharmacists were found to have a high level of involvement in health promotion activities. A lack of an appropriate area in the CDROs and a lack of coordination with other healthcare providers were among the most reported barriers. Pharmacists might benefit from training to increase their educational backgrounds, and barriers could be addressed to enhance the pharmacist involvement.

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to assess the clinical and economic impact of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) among patients admitted to the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UoGCSH).Design and settingA prospective nested case–control study was conducted at the UoGCSH among admitted adult patients with (cases) and without ADRs (controls) between May and October 2022.ParticipantsAll eligible adult patients admitted in the medical ward of the UoGCSH during the study period were included in this study.Main outcome measuresThe outcome variables were the clinical and economic outcomes. Length of hospital stay, visits to intensive care units (ICU) and in-hospital mortality were used to measure and compare clinical outcomes in patients with and without ADRs. The economic outcome was also assessed using direct medical-related costs and compared for the two groups. Paired samples t-test and McNemar tests were used to compare measurable outcomes between the two groups. A p value <0.05 at the 95% CI was considered statistically significant.ResultsOut of a total of 214 eligible enrolled patients, 206 (103 with and 103 without ADRs) with a 96.3% response rate were included in the cohort. The length of hospital stay was much longer in patients with ADRs than without ADRs (19.8 vs 15.2 days, p<0.001). Similarly, ICU visits (11.2% vs 6.8%, p<0.001) and in-hospital mortality (4.4% vs 1.9%, p=0.012) were significantly higher in patients with ADRs compared with those without ADRs. Patients with ADRs were significantly charged with higher direct medical costs compared with those without ADRs (6237.2 vs 5256.3 Ethiopian birr; p<0.001).ConclusionThis study concluded that ADRs had a significant impact on patients’ clinical and medical costs. Healthcare providers should strictly follow the patients to minimise ADR-related clinical and economic adverse outcomes.