Suspected tuberculosis case detection and referral in private pharmacies in Viet Nam

The development of health and healthcare systems in South‐East Asia has influenced the practice of community pharmacy. Over the years, community pharmacy in the region has striven to expand services beyond dispensing to encompass more involvement in public health issues. Searches were conducted in Scopus, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PubMed for articles published between January 2000 and December 2014, with 21 studies in five countries meeting the inclusion criteria. The findings showed increasing interest in research into the delivery of pharmacy services and public health initiatives. Overall, the review found that provision of some health services in pharmacies was common; however, most public health initiatives appeared to be poorly implemented, had limited evidence and were not demonstrated to be sustainable across the sector. This indicates that the practice of community pharmacy in the region has not significantly changed over the past 14 years with respect to the scope and quality of pharmacy services provided, and fundamental policy changes are necessary to improve this situation.

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“…, Vu et al . ), acute respiratory infections (Chuc et al . , ) and diarrhoea (Saengcharoen & Lerkiatbundit , Minh et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community pharmacy and emerging public health initiatives in developing Southeast Asian countries: a systematic review

Hermansyah

Sainsbury

Krass

2015

Health Soc Care Community

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“…Of 649 patients with additional clinical information available in the record, half had comorbidities. The median length of hospitalization was approximately 11 days (IQR: [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Section: Clinical Profile Of Community-acquired Pneumonia Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8 These high resistance rates could be associated with the overuse of these antibiotics in a community where people could straightforwardly purchase medicines without prescriptions. 9,10 Thus, the empirical treatments for CAP patients could be challenged. National and local standard treatment guidelines are important tools to tailor antibiotic choices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antibiotic therapy for inpatients with community‐acquired pneumonia in a developing country

Trinh

Hoang

Cardona³

et al. 2014

Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug

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This first nationwide study provides a baseline profile of antibiotic use in the treatment of CAP. Third-generation cephalosporins were widely used for initial empirical management of CAP, often in combination with quinolones, regardless of CAP severity. The study will assist in providing an evidence base to inform new national antibiotic guidelines for CAP management and will contribute locally relevant data for the national master plan addressing antibiotic resistance and the development of educational interventions to improve CAP management.

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“…Due to the larger relative size of pharmacies, each received two detailing visits, whereas grocery stores received only one visit. The initial visits lasted an average of 16 minutes (Interquartile range (IQR) [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], with an average of 11 minutes dedicated to TB content. Follow-up booster visits at pharmacies lasted an average of 7 minutes (IQR 4-11).…”

Section: The Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Globally pharmacies and small neighborhood shops that sell medicines informally are often envisioned as obstacles to TB control because they often dispense palliative treatments, mono-therapies, or insufficient dosages that contribute to the rise of multi-drug resistance [4][5][6][7][8][9]. However, efforts to promote referral by pharmacies and small businesses in Bolivia, India, Nepal, Vietnam, Malawi and elsewhere have shown modest successes in enhancing timely referral to TB care and reducing the unregulated sale of TB medications [10][11][12][13][14]. Moreover pharmacists often have unique access to certain vulnerable groups, such as diabetics [15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Referral of Clients Exhibiting TB Symptoms by Pharmacies and Corner Stores in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Mitchell¹,

Pérez-Then²,

Orejel-Juarez³

et al. 2013

TOIDJ

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Engagement of the private sector and community leaders are popular strategies for improving tuberculosis (TB) case detection. However the impact of engaging pharmacies and community shop keepers in TB referral varies and the best method to achieve it are unknown.To evaluate changes in referral and TB case detection following workshops and/or motivational "detailing" visits, mystery clients visited 188 pharmacies and 103 grocery stores to seek advice for chronic symptoms reflecting pulmonary TB. Most sites (89% n=255) were exposed to "detailing" and 26.8% (76) also attended 1 hour workshops designed by the National TB program and KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (KNCV). Sites were scored pre-and post-intervention, obtaining 1 point each for a) spontaneous recognition of TB symptoms, b) acknowledgement of symptoms as possibly TB when prompted, c) referral to medical care d) not promoting drugs e) exhibiting TB health education materials on site and f) referral of mystery clients to the TB program.The TB recognition and referral scores of all exposed establishments increased by an average of 2.0 points (95%C.I. 1.9-2.1) at post-test compared with an increase of 0.6 points (95%C.I. 0.4-.0.9) among those in the comparison group (p<0.001). Attempted sales of antibiotics and palliatives declined from 38.3% at baseline to 16.1%. After six months, 33.1% of pharmacies and 22.7% of grocery stores reported referring. Seven smear-positive TB cases were diagnosed from among 70 TB suspects referred by pharmacies, but none from among 30 suspects sent by groceries. TB investigations rose by 8.4% in the area for a six month period. The intervention is likely to have contributed to the doubling of TB case notifications over two years.A simple motivation intervention led to improvement in referral and TB case detection. The National TB program introduced interventions with pharmacies to other provinces.

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Suspected tuberculosis case detection and referral in private pharmacies in Viet Nam

Abstract: Nearly half of HCPs in private pharmacies do not refer TB suspects, possibly contributing to delays in diagnosis and treatment. Knowledge about free NTP treatment predicted better performance of HCPs.

Cited by 30 publications

References 39 publications

Community pharmacy and emerging public health initiatives in developing Southeast Asian countries: a systematic review

Community pharmacy and emerging public health initiatives in developing Southeast Asian countries: a systematic review

Antibiotic therapy for inpatients with community‐acquired pneumonia in a developing country

Effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Referral of Clients Exhibiting TB Symptoms by Pharmacies and Corner Stores in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

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