Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm / Background 2 Medication labels are often the only information available to patients after obtaining medication 3 from the pharmacy or other healthcare practitioners. Inappropriately designed medicine labelling 4 contributes to poor interpretation and improper use, which could adversely affect patient health 5 outcomes. In developing countries, pictograms (pictures representing words or phrases), on 6 medicine labels tend to support patients’ ability to read, understand and recall information. 7 8 Objective 9 This comparative study examined low-literate participants’ interpretation of ‘text-and-pictogram’ 10 instructions versus ‘routine text-only’ instructions relative to the intended medicine use 11 instructions on an oral rehydration (OR) dry mixture sachet in public sector Community Health 12 Centres (CHCs) in Cape Town. 13 14 Method 15 CHCs, (n=4) from Tygerberg (Cape Town) sub-district were recruited. Two trained data collectors 16 recruited participants from the paediatric section’s waiting area. Participants were either shown an 17 OR medicine label containing both “text-and-pictograms” (experimental group) and one 18 containing “routine text-only” (control group) instructions. Data regarding understanding of six 19 instructions for use on the medicine label were recorded. Responses were scored according to a 3-20 point Likert scale and compared for each question, to calculate which of the experimental or 21 control group answered better. Responses to the questions to explain the observed deviation 22 between the participant interpretation of the label and the intended message of the label, was noted. 23 Responses were recorded and transcribed. Open-ended questions regarding label interpretation and 24 preference were thematically analysed.

Accès, propriété, médicament. Comment s’articulent l’accès et la propriété sur un bien aussi spécifique que le médicament ? Telle fut notre interrogation de départ. Opposer la propriété intellectuelle et l’accès peut surprendre. La propriété intellectuelle n’organise-t-elle pas l’exclusivité dans le partage ? Pourquoi alors invoquer l’accès à un bien approprié ? Répondre à ces questions nous a conduit à nous intéresser aux fondements de la propriété industrielle et à en étudier l’étendue. Le constat fut sans appel : le droit de la propriété intellectuelle s’est considérablement étendu. Longtemps rejeté du domaine brevetable, le médicament illustre ce mouvement. Dans de telles conditions, il n’est pas étonnant de voir émerger l’accès. À l’extension des droits de l’un répond un droit d’accès de l’autre. C’est donc d’abord une confrontation qui caractérise le rapport entre la propriété intellectuelle et l’accès aux médicaments. Pouvait-on en rester à ce constat d’une confrontation de logique ? La cohérence dus système juridique imposait de rechercher des mécanismes d’articulation. Trouver une combinaison est une nécessité. Il convenait d’étudier les mécanismes offerts par le droit de la propriété industrielle. Leurs caractères exceptionnels demeurent insuffisants. Aussi a-t-on tenter de proposer des mécanismes structurels / Access, property, medicine. How is access and ownership linked to something as specific as medicine? This was our initial question. Opposing intellectual property and access can be surprising. Doesn't intellectual property organize exclusivity in sharing? Why then invoke access to an appropriate good? Answering these questions has led us to take an interest in the foundations of industrial property and to study its scope. The report was clear: intellectual property law has expanded considerably. Long rejected from the patentable field, the drug illustrates this movement. Under such conditions, it is not surprising to see access emerging. The extension of the rights of one responds to the right of access of the other. It is therefore first of all a confrontation that characterizes the relationship between intellectual property and access to medicines. Could we stick to this observation of a confrontation of logic? The coherence of the legal system required the search for articulation mechanisms. Finding a combination is a necessity. The mechanisms offered by industrial property law needed to be studied. Their exceptional characteristics remain insufficient. So we try to propose structural mechanisms

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Abstract Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), a chronic medical condition characterized by cycles of wellness and illness, has the potential to decrease the physical activity levels and functional independence of infected individuals. Although antiretroviral therapy has been credited with improving and maintaining the immune status of infected patients by increasing cluster of differention 4 (CD4) count and suppressing viral load, the short- and long-term side effects of antiretroviral medication and the possible negative impact of these side effects on physical well-being have not yet been fully investigated. Therefore, I assessed the relationship between CD4 count, habitual physical activity levels and functional independence in a group of HIV positive South African adults either taking or not taking antiretroviral medication. I also compared the aerobic capacity, muscle strength and physical activity levels (activity counts) of age-matched black HIV negative females and HIV positive females who were taking antiretroviral medication. For the first part of the study, a Lifestyle and Physical Activity Questionnaire was completed by 186 black* male and female HIV positive outpatients who were recruited from a Johannesburg based antiretroviral roll out site. Of these patients, 121 were on first line antiretroviral treatment (median time of seven months), and 65 patients were not taking any medication. The questionnaire, as well as recording HIV history and current CD4 count, assessed each patient’s ability to independently perform one or more tasks of daily living as well as his/her monthly occupational, household and recreational physical activity levels. From the subjects’ responses, a total metabolic equivalent (MET) score for one month was calculated. The second part of the study assessed the full blood counts, aerobic capacity (submaximal bicycle ergometer test), lower limb strength (isokinetic dynamometry), hand grip strength (hand dynamometer) and seven day physical activity counts (actigraphy) of ten HIV positive black females recruited from the same Johannesburg antiretroviral roll out site. All of these patients had been taking first line antiretroviral treatment for a median time period of seven months. Ten HIV negative age-matched black females acted as their controls. From the questionnaire, significant correlations were observed between CD4 count and length of time on antiretroviral medication (P < 0.0001; r = 0.45), and between CD4 count and total monthly physical activity level (P = 0.0067; r = 0.20). Patients who considered themselves functionally independent had a significantly higher CD4 count that those patients who required help from others (P = 0.0031). The second part of the study revealed no significant difference in aerobic capacity, lower limb muscle strength (peak torque), handgrip strength and seven day physical activity counts between the female HIV positive patients and HIV negative controls. My results show that the use of antiretroviral medication (median time of seven months) increases CD4 count which translates into an increased habitual physical activity level and greater sense of functional independence. I have also shown that HIV positive females who are taking antiretroviral medication have an aerobic capacity, leg strength, handgrip strength and physical activity count which is not statistically different to their HIV negative counterparts. In this sample, the side effects associated with the administration of antiretroviral medication did not negatively impact on physical well-being. However, more research needs to be conducted on the possible physical activity limiting side effects of longer term antiretroviral medication administration, which may limit habitual physical activity levels. * Footnote: Race does not refer to any biological attributes but rather to the compulsory classification of people into the Population Registration Act. Although the act has been amended, these categories are still powerful and commonly used by the South African Government and statistical services.

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We hypothesized that higher levels of felt or enacted stigma would be related to poorer medication adherence, and that this relationship would be mediated by indicators of HIVrelated quality of life (HIV-QOL) including medication concerns, disclosure concerns, and perceptions of health provider treatment. 98 people living with HIV (PLWH) who were all currently taking ART medications completed an online survey that included measures of demographics, HIV-related stigma, medication, and HIV-QOL. Results suggested that concerns about medication accounted for the relationship between enacted HIV-related stigma and medication adherence.

Background: With the increased emphasis on technology-based education, in-person educational escape room puzzles are gaining popularity in higher education. In response to challenges in delivering quality education within the virtual environment, the need to expand learning opportunities within the digital environment has never been greater. Methods: The purpose of this study is to investigate nursing students’ experience using gamification Virtual Interactive Puzzle Escape Room (VIPER), which incorporates tasks of medication calculations and safe blood transfusion procedures. Using a quasi-experimental explanatory post-test design, the sample consisted of (N=52) third-year nursing students enrolled in a medical-surgical nursing course from Ottawa, Ontario. The reliable and validated GAMEX tool was used to assess the gameful experience of the VIPER. A secondary question identified if age of participants influence their gameful experience scores. Results: Participants perceived VIPER improved knowledge, skills and judgement and can be an effective educational modality to apply skills of medication calculations and reinforce the nursing skills in complex clinical interventions. Conclusions: By incorporating creative and engaging game elements into nursing education, educators can enhance the learning experience of nursing students and prepare them to provide high-quality patient care.

Caregivers of elderly people may make errors in administering medicine. This study aims to determine a more effective method of presenting prescription instructions to caregivers and to determine if the multiple resource hypothesis holds in the context of prescription instructions by evaluating the effect a voice prescription label (that gives audio instructions) has on comprehension and memory of a drug regimen under varying training level, task complexity, and instruction format. In performing a multivariate analyses of variance on data collected among formal and informal caregivers, training level, task complexity, sound condition, and instruction format were found to significantly affect caregivers' memory and comprehension. There is evidence that audio instructions and the matrix format reduce errors. These results could lead to the development of a Medication Scheduling Management System that would organize medicines according to administration time and incorporate decision rules to determine what to do if a dose is missed.

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No description available.