| Abstract | Cilj istraživanja: Cilj ovog istraživanja je ispitati praksu ljekarnika oko savjetovanja
pacijenata na terapiji topikalnim kortikosteroidima i ispitati čimbenike koji imaju utjecaj na
savjetovanje o primjeni kortikosteroida.
Ispitanici i metode: Ispitanici uključeni u ovo istraživanje su svi diplomirani magistri
farmacije zaposleni u javnim ljekarnama u Republici Hrvatskoj. Istraživanje je provedeno od
lipnja do rujna 2023. godine. Anketa o praksi i savjetovanju pacijenata o terapiji
kortikosteroidima sastojala se od pet dijelova u kojima su ispitivani: sociodemografski podaci,
praksa ljekarnika u vezi s konzultacijom njihovih pacijenata o pravilnoj primjeni topikalnih
kortikosteroida, stavovi ljekarnika o doziranju kortikosteroida FTU (finger tip unit) metodom,
percepcija ljekarnika o znanju njihovih pacijenata i izvorima podataka koje koriste te iskustvo
ljekarnika u vezi s neželjenim učincima kortikosteroida. Nakon prikupljanja podataka anketom,
provedena je statistička analiza podataka.
Rezultati: U istraživanju je sudjelovalo ukupno 320 ljekarnika. Većina ispitanika je iz područja
Jadranske Hrvatske, zatim slijedi Sjeverna Hrvatska, Grad Zagreb pa Panonska Hrvatska.
Preko 96% ljekarnika objašnjava način primjene, učestalost primjene u danu i duljinu terapije
većini pacijenata. Potrebna su poboljšanja u praksi savjetovanja neželjenih učinaka, koje
rutinski objašnjava 52,2% ljekarnika, FTU metode, koju objašnjava 44,3% ljekarnika te načina
čuvanja i primjene nepotrošenog lijeka. Otprilike polovina ljekarnika (47%) smatra ljekarnike
kao glavni izvor informacija za pacijente. Malo više od polovine ljekarnika (58,1%) smatra da
su pacijenti upoznati s pravilnim korištenjem topikalnog kortikosteroida te s očekivanim
učincima i djelotvornosti kortikosteroida (59,7%), a 77,2% ljekarnika smatra da nisu dobro
upoznati s nuspojavama i postupanjem pri pojavi nuspojava (80,6%), što je usporedivo s
njihovom praksom savjetovanja.
Zaključak: Ljekarnici u Hrvatskoj su pokazali da imaju dobru praksu savjetovanja pri
objašnjavanju načina primjene, učestalosti primjene u danu i duljini terapije topikalnim
kortikosteroidima, no slabiju praksu pri objašnjavanju neželjenih učinaka i sigurnosti
topikalnih kortikosteroida te FTU metode. Potrebno je neprekidno učenje i usavršavanje
ljekarnika te jačanje suradnje među zdravstvenim djelatnicima u cilju poboljšanja kvalitete
savjetovanja pacijenata i smanjenja kortikofobije. |
| Abstract (english) | Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine pharmacists' practice regarding counseling
patients on topical corticosteroid therapy and to investigate the factors that influence
counseling on corticosteroid application.
Respondents and methods: The participants included in this research are all graduate
pharmacists employed in public pharmacies in the Republic of Croatia. The study was
conducted from June to September 2023. The survey on the practice and counseling of patients
on corticosteroid therapy consisted of five parts, in which the following aspects were examined:
sociodemographic data, pharmacists' practice related to advising their patients on the proper
use of topical corticosteroids, pharmacists' attitudes towards corticosteroid dosing using the
FTU (finger tip unit) method, pharmacists' perception of their patients' knowledge and
information sources they used, and pharmacists' experience regarding the adverse effects of
corticosteroids. After data collection through the survey, a statistical analysis of the data was
performed.
Results: A total of 320 pharmacists participated in the research. The majority of respondents
were from the Adriatic region of Croatia, followed by Northern Croatia, the City of Zagreb,
and Pannonian Croatia. Over 96% of pharmacists explain the method of application, frequency
of use per day, and treatment duration to the majority of their patients. There is a need for
improvement in counseling practices regarding adverse effects, which were routinely explained
by 52.2% of pharmacists, as well as the FTU (finger tip unit) method, which was explained by
44.3% of pharmacists, and the storage and application of unused medication. Approximately
half of the pharmacists (47%) considered pharmacists as the primary source of information for
patients. Just over half of the pharmacists (58.1%) believed that patients were aware of using
topical corticosteroids and their expected effects and effectiveness (59.7%), while 77.2% of
pharmacists believed they are not well informed about side effects and how to deal with them
(80.6%), which was comparable to their counseling practices.
Conclusion: Pharmacists in Croatia had demonstrated good counseling practices when
explaining the application method, frequency of use per day, and the treatment duration of
topical corticosteroids. However, their practice was weaker in explaining the side effects and
safety of topical corticosteroids, as well as the FTU (finger tip unit) method. Continuous learning and improvement of pharmacists are necessary, along with strengthening
collaboration among healthcare professionals, to enhance the quality of patient counseling and
reduce corticophobia. |
