Purpose The aims of this study are to explore the types and patterns of use of health mobile apps among pharmacy clients in Selangor, Malaysia, and to explore the users’ experiences and views regarding the benefits of and issues with the use of the health apps. Patients and Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 278 pharmacy clients who were using health apps on their smartphones. A survey was developed, piloted, and rolled out, comprised of socio-demographic characteristics, information regarding the common types and the pattern of health app use, the benefits of health apps, and issues that users faced while using these apps. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 21. Results The mean (±SD) age of health app users was 29.8 (±11.74) years old, and over half of them (51.8%) were male, while less than half were female (48.2%). There were 48 different types of mobile health apps used by the participants in this study. The two most common were multi-purpose general health apps (53.6%) and fitness apps (38.1%). In terms of pattern of use, 33.5% of the participants reported using their health apps daily, 36.7% at least once weekly, and 25.2% monthly. The main benefits reported by the users were tracking of health status (47%), motivation (41%), and knowledge about health and fitness (9%). The main issues reported by the participants included inaccuracy of the app (24%), inconvenience (20.7%), and not being user-friendly (18.5%). Conclusion The study showed that the participants used many different types of mobile health apps for several purposes, including general health, wellness, fitness, and self-management of diseases. These apps helped the participants to track their health-related activities and motivated them to maintain their wellness and fitness. Further areas of improvement were identified to ensure evidence-based and effective utilization of apps to achieve required health outcomes.

ABSTRACT Objectives: The primary objective of this review is (1) to better understand the prevalence and impact of medication nonadherence, (2) to identify risk factors for medication nonadherence, (3) to understand the association between nonadherence and its implications on patient health outcomes in pharmacy practice, and (4) to study interventions designed to improve patient adherence to prescribed medications for medical conditions, considering its impact on both medication adherence and patient health outcomes.   Methods: Published journal articles were manually sorted. Additional references were obtained from citations within the retrieved articles. This review surveyed the findings of the identified articles with data extracted to presents various strategies and resources on medication nonadherence related to patients and healthcare providers. English languages were considered inclusion criteria in reviewing published articles related to medication nonadherence. This review also surveyed identified articles to determine both subjective and objective medication adherence measures. Key findings: The research in this field needs advances, including improved design of feasible long‐term interventions, objective adherence measures, and sufficient study power to detect improvements in patient health outcomes.   Conclusion: Current methods of improving medication adherence for chronic health problems are mostly complex and ineffective so full benefits of treatment cannot be realized. To date, monitoring of patient medication adherence and use of interventions to improve adherence are rare in routine clinical practice.

Objective: Adenocarcinoma (AC) of the lung is now the most common histologic type of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) worldwide since the past 20 years. This study was conducted to investigate survival difference among smoker and non-smoker lung AC patients.Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted for 81 advanced NSCLC adult Malaysian patients in Radiotherapy and Oncology Clinic at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of adult 30 Malaysian smokers and 51 non-smokers with lung AC were included. Ex-smokers were not included in the study. Demographic and clinical data were collected and described. For survival analysis, Kaplan–Meier test and log-rank test were used to calculate overall survival (OS) and analyse the difference in the survival curve. Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify prognostic significance of smoking status.Results: Non-smokers showed a significant association with female gender and Stage IV NSCLC. The median OS was higher for non-smokers (493 days) as compared to smokers (230 days). The Cox proportional hazard model showed higher hazard ratio for smokers.Conclusion: Non-smoking is an independent positive prognostic factor in lung AC.

Adult Malaysian patients suffering from advanced Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with Positive EGFR status when underwent first line targeted therapy (Gefitinib) had improved survival.

Objective: Increasing prevalence and poor survival of advanced incurable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) make it a major health problem globally, especially in developing countries. This awakens need for identification of the strongest prognostic factor that helps in the selection of appropriate treatment and hence palliates symptoms and improves survival. Lung cancer treatment guidelines advise performance status (PS) as the most established prognostic factor in advanced NSCLC patients. This study investigated the prognostic significance of PS.Methods: An observational study was done for 163 advanced NSCLC adult Malaysian patients in Radiotherapy and Oncology Clinic, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Demographic and clinical data were recorded. Kaplan-Meier test was used to measure median overall survival (OS) and Cox proportional hazard model to calculate the hazard ratio for different categories of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS.Results: The mean age and body weight were 56.7±10.1 years old and 57.42±13.5 kg, respectively. Majority patients were male (68.7%), Stage IV NSCLC (65.0%), and ECOG PS score of 2 (41.1%). ECOG PS had a significant association with age and body weight. Median OS was least for ECOG PS score of 4 (253 days) and was statistically significant (p=0.003). ECOG PS was a significant independent prognostic factor for survival in advanced NSCLC patients (p<0.001).Conclusion: PS is a strong prognostic factor in advanced NSCLC.