No abstract

Objective: To investigate if diabetic and hypertensive patients were being adequately counselled by pharmacy personnel about their medication, disease states and lifestyle modifications at Lesotho defence force (LDF) clinic in Maseru.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among diabetic and hypertensive patients treated at LDF clinic in Maseru from March to May 2017. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data in a face-to-face interview with patients. Microsoft Excel 2010 was used to analyse collected data.Results: The study population consisted of 222 participants; 22 (28.2%) of diabetic. respondents had inadequate knowledge of diabetes mellitus complications and 56 (71.8%) had no knowledge of complications. 153 (78.8%) of hypertensive respondents had inadequate knowledge of hypertension complications and 33 (17.1%) had no knowledge of complications. 56 (25.2%) had adequate knowledge of lifestyle modifications of diabetes mellitus and hypertension and 164 (73.9%) had inadequate knowledge. 182 (82.0%) had adequate knowledge of their anti-hypertensive and anti-diabetic medicines names, 20 (9.0%) had inadequate knowledge and 20 (9.0%) had no knowledge. 63 (28.4%) had adequate knowledge of their medicines strengths, 17 (7.7%) had inadequate knowledge and 142 (64.0%) had no knowledge. 199 (89.6%) respondents had adequate knowledge of dosing frequency and 20 (9.0%) had inadequate knowledge.Conclusion: Hypertensive and diabetic patients’ knowledge about medication, disease states and lifestyle modifications were inadequate due to poor patient counselling on such aspects by pharmacy personnel at LDF clinic in Maseru.

Hospitalisation of chronic diseases can be costly and time-consuming to patients with chronic diseases, and success of management of chronic diseases is in the primary care. This chapter gives a detailed description of primary health and its role in the management of chronic diseases. Hypertension as a chronic disease of interest and its management in the primary healthcare (PHC) context are also to be discussed in detail. However, to give this chapter clarity, a brief description of the country Lesotho will be given. The summary of the country will highlight major barriers to health care which mainly include poverty, difficult topography with no or poor infrastructure which hinder access to primary health care. Situational analysis is made with regard to current practice. The potential role of a pharmacist in the care and treatment of hypertension is explored. Best practices, need for policy change, guidelines and implementation plans will be highlighted. The aim of the chapter is to evaluate how chronic diseases are managed at the primary health care. The objectives include: a) to explore primary health care concept, b) to critically evaluate PHC concept in an African country and c) to describe human resource needs to meet the demands of PHC chronic diseases management.

Background Medicines for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are essential in the management of patients with NCDs therefore, it is important that they are readily available to patients at health facilities. Objective This study aimed to assess the availability of medicines used in the management of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, asthma and epilepsy in public outpatient departments (OPDs) and healthcare centres in Lesotho. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at public OPDs in district hospitals and healthcare centres in Lesotho using self-administered structured questionnaires targeting all health workers in managerial positions. Ethical approval was obtained from a licenced Health Research Ethics Committee (HREC) (Ethics number: 00048-18-A1) and the Ministry of Health Ethics Committee and Review Board of Lesotho (ID120-2018). Data were analysed descriptively. Results Ten of 16 respondents at OPDs perceived that medicines for diabetes mellitus were available and nine thought those for hypertension and asthma were available. Eight of 16 respondents perceived that medicines for epilepsy were available at OPDs. At healthcare centres, 73.3% (n = 63) of respondents perceived that medicines for diabetes mellitus were available, 62.8% (n = 54) thought hypertension medicines were available, 68.6% (n = 59) indicated that medicines for asthma were available, and 61.6% (n = 53) perceived that medicines for epilepsy were also available. Conclusion The majority of health workers at OPDs and healthcare centres perceived that medicines for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, asthma and epilepsy were available at health facilities. Thus, suggesting that the public health facilities in Lesotho seem to almost always have medicines for NCDs.