Mohamed Azmi Hassali

Universiti Sains Malaysia | USM · Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230850.].

Malaysian government has established National Digital Economy Policy to promote e-commerce adoption among small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Although this national policy has expanded to community pharmacists for providing e-pharmacy services, only a few independent pharmacies have adopted e-pharmacy practices. As such, it is important to critical...

Understanding the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards antibiotics with a valid and reliable questionnaire is essential to design an intervention to minimize misuse and overuse of antibiotics in the general community setting. This study aimed to develop and validate knowledge, attitude, and practice towards antibiotics questionnaire (KAP...

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the second most prevalent infection among the elderly population. Hence, the current study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of UTIs among older adults, medication regimen complexity, and the factors associated with the treatment outcomes of elderly patients infected with UTIs. Methods: A retrospective...

Background: Kidney stones form by the precipitation or crystallization of minerals and urinary constituents. It is a common problem worldwide manifested with recurrent intermittent pain episodes, surgical interventions, and medication consumption which affect the patients’ quality of life. The current study explored patients’ satisfaction with the...

Compromised lung function is a common feature of COPD patients, but certain factors increase the rate of lung function decline in COPD patients. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effect of different clinically important factors responsible for rapid deterioration of lung function quantified as ≥ 60 ml decline in FEV1 over a...

Purpose: The lack of scientific evidence of the safety and efficacy of over-the-counter topical cannabinoid-based cosmetics remains a concern. The current study attempted to assess the quality of cannabinoid-based cosmetic products available on the UAE market. In particular, the study attempted to quantify the presence of undeclared tetrahydrocanna...

Background and Aim: Antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious problems worldwide. One predictive factor of increasing antibiotics resistance is the use of antibiotics in animals. This study aimed to explore the use of antibiotics for animal husbandry in a general community in Indonesia. Materials and Methods: A concurrent mixed-methods stud...

Background: Geriatric individuals are more susceptible to different infections, especially respiratory-tract infections (RTIs) due to their compromised immune system. Hence, the objectives of the present study were to evaluate the prevalence, medication regimen complexity and factors associated with the treatment outcomes of different RTIs among ge...

Background Unused medications in homes pose significant health, economic, and environmental risks. Patients are the medications end users and their knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) play an important role towards medication use, unuse and wastage. Thus, a valid instrument to reliably measure patients’ KAP towards unused medications in homes...

Background: This study explores thalassemia patients' perceptions concerning the effectiveness of conventional therapies and complementary alternative medicine (CAM) for Thalassemia healthcare. Method: The semi-structured interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English. Results: Nearly all thalassemia patients reported...

With the continuation of the second wave of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is likely to be even more devastating, there are several associated health problems. COVID-19 is usually mild and non-fatal in children. However, in rare cases, children could severely be affected, and clinical manifestations may differ from adults. A multisys...

Background: Several economic evaluations have been performed in various countries to demonstrate the efficacy of novel oral anticoagulants versus warfarin in patients with cardiovascular diseases. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive summarization of the pharmacoeconomic performance of four novel oral anticoagulants, rivaroxaban,...

Aim The aim of the study was to develop and evaluate an educational intervention for practicing physicians for reporting of adverse drug reactions. Subjects and Methods Reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by healthcare professionals is paramount for improving medicine safety. However, the under-reporting of ADR by physicians is a global pro...

Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are the most common infections in children encountered by physicians in primary healthcare settings. This study aimed to assess the Malaysian parents' knowledge, attitude, and practices towards the rational use of antibiotics in URTIs. A cross-sectional survey was executed; by using a previously validated...

Objective: In order to gain a good understanding of Malaysian online pharmacy market as an emerging market through evaluating a number of companies that operating in it based on fixed criteria. Methods: The secondary (desk) research method was used. A number of online pharmacies that operates in Malaysia were chosen based on their ranking on the Go...

Objective Unregistered medications which are lacking regulation in terms of safety, efficacy and quality may cause unpredictable adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in consumers. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the public knowledge, attitude and practice of consuming and purchasing unregistered health products in Malaysia. Methods A cross‐sectiona...

Background: Unnecessary antimicrobial use is an emerging problem throughout the world. To design future interventions to ensure rational antimicrobial use and decrease the risk of antimicrobial resistance, physician's knowledge and prescribing practices of antimicrobials should be assessed. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investig...

Background: Hepatitis C is a public health threat, affecting approximately 1.9% of the Malaysian population. Objectives: This study demonstrates how a series of initiatives taken by the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Malaysia have impacted the treatment coverage and drug expenditure for hepatitis C patients since 2013, the year in which the first dire...

The appropriate disposal practice of unused and expired medications has become a global challenge that has caught the attention of health policymakers, pharmaceutical organizations, healthcare professionals, and the wider community. The current study aimed to evaluate the awareness, attitudes, and behaviors relating to the disposal practice of unus...

Aims: Consumers' awareness, perceptions, expectations and experiences are integral components of their satisfaction towards the quality of care provided by community pharmacists. This study aims to assess consumers' awareness, perceptions, expectations and experiences about the role of Malaysian community pharmacists in providing healthcare. Study...

Introduction: National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency, Ministry of Health Malaysia has received 1018 adverse drug reaction reports related to paracetamol with 1972 adverse events from the year 2000 to February 2015. Serious skin reactions including Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis, and acute generalized exanthematous pus...

Objective This study aims to assess the relative importance of attitude and subjective norms as well as physicians' characteristics and practice‐setting factors in predicting the outcome of physicians' interactions with MRs. Methods A cross‐sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of 602 physicians in Sana'a, Yemen. The data were...

Objective This article aimed to summarize the pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of COPD and limitations and prospects of the currently available pharmacological therapies in the management of COPD. Background COPD is a complex comorbid disease that irreversibly affects the pulmonary system and is considered the fifth leading cause...

Objective: The Test of Adherence to Inhalers (TAI) is a validated self-reported questionnaire that can assess adherence to inhalers through patient self-report reliably. However, it was not available in Bahasa Melayu (BM) language, nor has it been validated for use in the Malaysian population. The study aimed, therefore, to translate the 10-item TA...

Background: Smoking plays a key role in the development of tuberculosis (TB) infection and is also a predictor of poor TB treatment prognosis and outcomes. The current study was conducted to determine the prevalence of smoking and to assess the effects of smoking on treatment outcomes among TB patients. Methods: A multi-center retrospective stud...

Background Medication errors are the most common types of medical errors that occur in health care organisations; however, these errors are largely underreported. Objective This study assessed knowledge on medication error reporting, perceived barriers to reporting medication errors, motivations for reporting medication errors and medication error...

Aim It is imperative to adhere to the medication regimen to improve glycemic control and prevent complications in patients with diabetes. By having a better understanding of people’s beliefs about medicines in specific and general contexts, this problem may be addressed. The aim of the current study was to assess the influence of beliefs about medi...

The current study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practice of oncologists and oncology pharmacy specialists towards the use of off-label drugs for cancer patients. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaire, conducted in four cancer clinics and hospitals. The outcomes reported commendable understanding an...

Background The effectiveness of home visits is well discussed for children with asthma, but limited in adults. Objective The present systematic review aims to investigate the potential role of home visits in improving outcomes among adult patients with asthma. Methods The systematic review was performed in line with the PRISMA statement. An exten...

Shared-decision making (SDM), occasionally called "participatory governance" is the approach in healthcare to ensure that patients have the right to participate effectively in the decision-making (DM) process. The aim of this research was to discuss the external aspect of SDM and put forward applicable solutions to ensure SDM at both patient and ph...

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the medication adherence, quality use of medicine, beliefs about medicines and the inter-relationships with blood pressure (BP) control among hypertensive patients at the community level in the state of Penang, Malaysia.MethodsA cross-sectional survey with onsite clinical measurement was conducted in...

Background: Cultural differences affect the administration and results of health status questionnaires. "Cross cultural adaptation" ensures retention of psychometric properties such as validity and reliability at an item and/or scale level. Objective: To develop a Malaysian version of St George's respiratory COPD specific questionnaire (SGRQ-CM)...

Introduction: In view of increasing concerns with antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the World Health Organization (WHO) instituted a Global Action Plan (GAP) to address this. Area Covered: One of the strategies to achieve the goals of GAP is to conduct regular surveillance of antimicrobial use through point prevalence surveys (PPS). In this review,...

Introduction: Quality Use of Medicines (QUoM) is of utmost importance regarding the safety and overall healthcare of the consumers/patients. This study aimed to explore the general usage pattern and attitude of the Makkah community about the safe use of medicines i.e. QUoM. Methods: Face to face interviews were done to administer questionnaires amo...

Background Antibiotic resistance is becoming a serious threat throughout the world. General community misuse and misconceptions in using antibiotics have been predicted to play a role in increasing antibacterial resistance (ABR). This study aimed to reveal the practicing antibiotic in the community, as information for national programs for reducing...

Introduction In patients with diabetes, better health communication is associated with better health outcomes including medication adherence and glycemic control. The conventional patient information leaflet does not consider cultural and behavioral perspectives of diverse patient populations. Consumer medicine information (CMI) is a written inform...

Recent years, the prevalence of paracetamol allergy becomes great concerns. However, data on knowledge, attitude and perception towards allergic reactions of paracetamol are lacking. This study aimed to investigate knowledge, attitude, and perception towards allergic reactions of paracetamol (KAP-ARP). A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has termed the novel coronavirus infection a pandemic based on number of confirmed cases in more than 195 countries and with risk of further spread. The infection has had drastic impact on global trade and stock markets. The Malaysian authorities realised the need to ensure availability of health resources and fa...

The contribution of all key healthcare professionals is vital to promote an e cient adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting system. In this context, nurses are important as they are in a better position to observe a patient's response regarding the drug therapy and to report an ADR. The aim of the study was to explore the perspectives of nurses about...

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requires long-term pharmacological and non-pharmacological management that encompasses continuous economic burden on patients and society, and also results in productivity losses due to compromised quality of life. Among working-age patients, COPD is the 11th leading cause of work productivity...

Objective Rare diseases are often underdiagnosed, and their management is frequently complicated by a lack of access to treatment and information about the diseases. To allow for better policy planning, we sought to examine the current status of managing rare diseases in Malaysia. Methods This study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase,...

Introduction: There are positive aspects regarding the prescribing of fixed dose combinations (FDCs) versus prescribing the medicines separately. However, these have to be balanced against concerns including increased costs and their irrationality in some cases. Consequently, there is a need to review their value among lower- and middle-income coun...

Introduction: There are positive aspects regarding the prescribing of fixed dose combinations (FDCs) versus prescribing the medicines separately. However, these have to be balanced against concerns including increased costs and their irrationality in some cases. Consequently, there is a need to review their value among lower- and middle-income coun...

Developed countries have established pharmacovigilance systems to monitor the safety of medicines. However, in the developing world, drug monitoring and reporting are facing enormous challenges. The current study was designed to explore the challenges related to the understanding and practices of physicians in reporting adverse drug reactions in La...

Background: Geriatric population is increasing day by day throughout the world and there is a critical need to provide them best health services including dermatological care due to their weakened immune system. The main objective of current study is to determine the prevalence and factors affecting the treatment outcomes of skin infections among e...

Objectives To find the economic burden of COPD and to identify the key cost drivers in the management of COPD patients across different European countries. Background COPD is a major cause of mortality and morbidity and is associated with considerable economic burden on the individual and society. It limits the daily activities and working ability...

Objectives: Presently, limited data are available on dietary supplements (DSs) and their associated effects on health status although the consumption of DS continues to expand. This study is aimed to explore the possible relationship between DSs consumption and suboptimal health status (SHS) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: This study...

Introduction: Antibiotics are indispensable to maintaining human health; however, their overuse has resulted in resistant organisms, increasing morbidity, mortality and costs. Increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health threat, resulting in multiple campaigns across countries to improve appropriate antimicrobial use. This inc...

Background: Antibiotics are available in the marketplace in the form of tablets and capsules, and are mostly self-prescribed by patients, with the consequent emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study evaluated the consumption patterns of antimicrobials in these dosage forms during 2017 in Pakistan. Methods: Data were acquired retrospe...

Abstract Background Non-adherence to physical therapy ranges from 14 to 70%. This could adversely affect physical functioning and requires careful monitoring. Studies that describe designing and validation of adherence measuring scales are scant. There is a growing need to formulate adherence measures for this population. The aim was to develop and...

Background : Smoking plays a key role in the development of tuberculosis (TB) infection and is also a predictor of poor TB treatment prognosis and outcomes. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of smoking and to assess the effects of smoking on treatment outcomes among TB patients. Methods : A multi-center retrospective study design was used to...

Aim This review study aimed to determine the effectiveness and factors affecting the success of DSME programs in T2DM patients living in ME countries. Methods An extensive manual literature search was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar for clinical trials assessing the effect of diabetes self-management education (DSME) for type 2 diabetes...

Background: The current study is aimed to assess menstruation-related knowledge and practices of adolescent females visiting a public health care institute of Quetta city, Pakistan. Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted. Nine hundred and twenty three female adolescents attending general out-patient departments of Mo...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the population behavioural influence towards generic medicines use in a Klang Valley. A self-administered questionnaire in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, was distributed conveniently. A total of 222 respondents have participated in the study (response rate 57.8%). The majority of the respondents (87.7%) have...

Unused medications have not only caused wastage, but improper disposal of unwanted medicines also has a negative impact on the environment and public health. The aim of this study was to study the public's knowledge, awareness and practice of disposing of unwanted or unused medicines in Malaysia. This was a descriptive, cross‐sectional survey condu...

Objective: This study aimed to estimate annual direct cost attributed to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment from a patient's perspective using real-world patient follow-up data from hospitals' electronic database. Methods: A prospective 1-year study was conducted in rheumatology clinics of tertiary care hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan. Cost-of-i...

Treatment understanding and experiences are vital to determine HIV patients’ adherence and retention to care. Methods: In-depth patient interviews were audio-recorded, with a prior verbal and written consent and subjected to a thematic content analysis framework for data analysis. Results: Though majority of participants believed in Antiretroviral...

Background The inappropriate use of antibiotics in hospitals increases resistance, morbidity, and mortality. Little is currently known about appropriate antibiotic use among hospitals in Lahore, the capital city of Pakistan. Methods Longitudinal surveillance was conducted over a period of 2 months among hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. Antibiotic tr...

Background: Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has socioeconomic impact and threatens global public health. We assessed treatment outcomes of MDR-TB and predictors of poor treatment outcomes in Sudan given current high prevalence rates. Methods: Combined retrospective and prospective cohort study at Abu-Anga hospital (TB specialized hospital...

Background Career planning and career advancement is related to more successful careers. Previous studies among pharmacists focused on overall job satisfaction but did not specifically explore their views regarding career planning and career advancement. Aim This study explored hospital pharmacists’ views on career planning and advancement. Metho...

Background: Understanding community perspectives on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a key component in designing educational interventions to combat ABR at the community level in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aimed to explore community residents' knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding antibiotics and ABR in Jelutong Distri...

Aim: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic progressive disabling disease that mainly affects joints. Studies documenting Pakistani patients' knowledge regarding RA disease are lacking and there is a need for such endeavor. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a novel research tool to document patient knowledge about RA disease....

Background: Lack of information about economic burden of COPD, is a major cause of lack of attention to this chronic condition from governments and policymakers. Objective: To find the economic burden of COPD in Asia, USA and Europe, and to identify the key cost driving factors in management of COPD patients. Methodology: Relevant studies assessing...

Objective To investigate the effectiveness of short message service (SMS) in promotion of non-pharmacological treatment approach in hypertension patients. Subjects and methods A prospective, randomized control study to measure the effect of short message service in improving self-management of hypertension by educating patients. One hundred and tw...

Context: Escalation in rates of diabetes in Pakistan is posing threats to the economy and to the people's quality of life due to poor glycemic control and very high rates of complications. Cost of care is very high, and many barriers to quality care exist. Most often patients are unable to afford the high cost of treatment. Patients' knowledge abo...

Background : Smoking plays a key role in the development of tuberculosis (TB) infection and is also a predictor of poor TB treatment prognosis and outcomes. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of smoking and to evaluate the TB treatment outcomes among TB patients. Methods : A multicenter retrospective study design was used in order to collect d...

Background: Smoking plays a key role in the development of tuberculosis (TB) infection and is also a predictor of poor TB treatment prognosis and outcomes. Objectives:To determine the prevalence of smoking and to assess the effects of smoking on treatment outcomes among TB patients. Methods: A multi-center retrospective study design was used to col...

Background : Smoking plays a key role in the development of tuberculosis (TB) infection and is also a predictor of poor TB treatment prognosis and outcomes. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of smoking and to assess the effects of smoking on treatment outcomes among TB patients. Methods : A multi-center retrospective study design was used to...