<p>Knowledge And Attitudes Of Pharmacy Students Towards Pharmacogenomics Among Universities In Jordan And West Bank Of Palestine</p>

Abstract

BackgroundTesting by pharmacogenomics (PGx) aims to reduce the side-effects of medicines and to optimize therapy.AimTo ascertain the knowledge and attitudes towards PGx among pharmacy students in Jordan and West Bank of Palestine (WBP).MethodsThis cross-sectional study focused on pharmacy students from five universities in Jordan and WBP. Students were asked to answer an online survey comprising 30-closed ended questions measuring the knowledge and attitudes towards PGx.ResultsThe total number of respondents to the questionnaire was 466. Most (96.1%) respondents knew that genetic variations can affect the drug response. Most students stated that the total number of lectures mentioning PGx was fewer than three. Most (>80%) respondents answered that they knew that human genetics can affect the response, inter-individual variation, and ethnic variations in the drug response. However, their knowledge about US Food and Drug Administration recommendations regarding PGx testing of commonly used drugs was weak. Also, 60.3% of respondents stated that the information they received about PGx was insufficient. Most (>92.7%) students wished to know more about PGx and believed that PGx is helpful in choosing the appropriate drug.ConclusionPharmacy students had fair knowledge and good attitudes towards PGx. These factors could aid application of PGx in clinical practice in Jordan and WBP.

A Comparison of Shisha Smoking among University students in Palestine, Jordan and Turkey

“…The questionnaires were formulated using Google forms and the online copy is available as a Google™ document (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwebHFniEECLYshw2CWpSV0EDdIP9Mx1nhP4y03BdAe88 D1A/viewform?usp=sf_link ). This type of forms were used in other studies before to collect the sample's answers online [18]. The process of contacting the students was facilitated using official Facebook pages of student's associations and unions.…”

“…Self-administered questionnaire was distributed online. The questionnaire was the sum of questions extracted from various questionnaires used in previous studies [18,[21][22][23]. This study collected data concerning socio-demographic and economic characteristics of the study participants, the affiliated university, the prevalence and patterns of Shisha smoking, and attitude towards Shisha addiction [10,24].…”

“…Another cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 371 students recruited from medical schools in eastern region of Saudi Arabia. The overall prevalence of Shisha smoking was 12.6%, more than 63% of smokers started smoking Shisha in ages between [16][17][18] years, and 15% of them smoked Shisha daily [11]. Another study titled "Smoking, Awareness of Smoking Associated Health Risks, and Knowledge of National Tobacco Legislation in Gaza, Palestine" that targeted the university students in the Palestinian city of Gaza had focused on the prevalence of Cigarette and Shisha smoking, health risks, and knowledge.…”

“…the prevalence of smoking shisha in different countries (Palestine, Jordan, Turkey and other country) according to different age category(17)(18)(19)19-21 years old etc. ).…”

Water pipe Smoking: Prevalence and Addiction among University students in Palestine, Jordan, and Turkey

“…The questionnaires were formulated using Google forms and the online copy is available as a Google™ document (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwebHFniEECLYshw2CWpSV0EDdIP9Mx1nhP4y03BdAe88D1A/view usp=sf_link ). This type of form has been used in other studies to gather answers online [32]. The process of contacting the students was facilitated using official Facebook pages of student associations and unions, and emails to invite them to participate in the study and take part in a survey and provided survey URL to access the online copy of the study questionnaire formulated using Google forms system.…”