Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35788213›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2022

Enhancing medication risk communication in developing countries: a cross-sectional survey among doctors and pharmacists in Malaysia.

Rema Panickar, Zoriah Aziz, Adeeba Kamarulzaman

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Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

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4citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Rema PanickarFaculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0002-4732-5641
Zoriah AzizFaculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. zoriah@um.edu.my.ORCID 0000-0001-7113-9323
Adeeba KamarulzamanFaculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMedication risk communication is essential to ensure the safe use of medicines. However, very few nations worldwide have established effective risk communication systems. To date, the effectiveness of risk communication among healthcare professionals in Malaysia has never been evaluated. Our study aimed to (i) evaluate doctors' and pharmacists' awareness of regulatory risk communication methods; (ii) identify factors predicting the usefulness of these methods; and (iii) compare respondents' preferences for risk communication to outline suggestions for enhancement.

methodsWe conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey covering four commonly used risk communications, namely a national drug bulletin, safety alerts, Direct Healthcare Professional Communication letters (DHPCs), and educational materials. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between independent variables and the usefulness of risk communication. We performed qualitative analysis of free-text responses to gain insights on respondents' perspectives on risk communication.

resultsOf the 1146 responses received, 650 were from pharmacists (56.7%). Among the four methods surveyed, 71.5% of respondents were aware of educational materials, while awareness of the other three methods ranged from 20.7 to 53.9%. Pharmacists had higher awareness of all four methods compared to doctors. Private sector respondents were more aware of DHPCs compared to those from the public sector. The strongest predictors for finding risk communication useful were being a pharmacist [odds ratio (OR) = 18.2; 95% CI: 10.98-30.07; p <  0.001], having ≥30 years' work experience [OR = 4.9; 95% CI: 1.98-12.08; p <  0.001], and working in the pharmaceutical industry [OR = 4.6; 95% CI: 1.08-19.72; p = 0.039]. Both doctors and pharmacists preferred risk communication in the English-language and electronic format. However, other preferences differed between the professions and sectors. Analysis of free-text comments revealed five core themes to guide risk communication enhancement strategies.

conclusionsRisk communication awareness differed between public and private sector doctors and pharmacists depending on communication source. Integrating our findings with the theory of effective communication, we provide suggestions for developing strategic plans on enhancing risk communication. Public-private sector collaboration is key in ensuring risk communication effectiveness.

Indexed as

Developing CountriesPharmacistsCommunicationCross-Sectional StudiesHumansMalaysiaAlertsHealthcare professionalsPharmacovigilancePredictorsRisk minimizationSafety informationSurvey

Identifiers

PMID35788213
PMCPMC9253255

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.