Pharmacists' benefit from directories and smartphone applications for human drugs in Egypt: an analytical study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Mansoura University

2 كلية الآداب - جامعة المنصورة

Abstract

Smartphone applications for human drugs are of great importance because they deal with human health and with medicine in terms of dosage, marketing, and promotion.The study aimed to explore pharmacists' benefit from directories and smartphone applications for human drugs in Egypt. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach, using a questionnaire as the primary data collection tool. The questionnaire was designed using Google Form and was distributed from March 2023 until the end of September 2023, with a study sample of 512 pharmacists. The study found that the use of directories and smartphone applications for human drugs in Egypt was constant at a rate of 73.2% and became a primary tool in daily work at 68.8%. Smartphone applications were the predominant form of directories and applications for human drugs in Egypt at 79.2%, with one of its main hindrances being "excessive advertisements displayed during usage" at 61.8%. There were no statistically significant differences between male and female pharmacists in the reasons for using directories and smartphone applications for human drugs in Egypt. The percentage of pharmacists relying on free applications for human drugs in Egypt was 80.8%, while paid applications accounted for 18%. The sufficiency of information provided by directories and smartphone applications for human drugs met pharmacists' informational needs at arate of 73.1%. Among the study's main recommendations: developers of directories and applications for human drugs in Egypt should focus on continuous updating, adding new drugs, and providing information that meets pharmacists' informational needs."

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