The College of Pharmacy discussed the MSc thesis entitled “Impact of Hospital Pharmacist-led Educational Program on the Severity, Disability, and Self-care Practices among Psoriatic Patients by the student Aya Mohammed Younis and the supervisor, Prof. Dr. Dheyaa Jabbar Kadhim at the Clinical Pharmacy Department, with Dr. Ali Fadhil Abaid from the Dermatology and Venereology Center at Medical City as co-advisor.
The study aimed to assess self-care practices and psoriasis-related disability among patients with psoriasis, develop, implement an educational program for patients with psoriasis, evaluate its effectiveness.
The study included a quasi-experimental, one-group pretest–posttest design was conducted among patients with psoriasis attending the Dermatology and Venereology Center at the Medical City Complex in Baghdad. At baseline, each patient’s Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), self-care practices, and Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI) were assessed. Following the baseline assessment, patients participated in an individual interview and received an educational counseling session. The first session was delivered at the beginning of the study, a second session was conducted one month later to reinforce the information provided. The final assessment was performed two months after enrollment to measure changes in PASI scores, self-care practices, PDI scores.
The results showed that initial assessment revealed that most patients had an acceptable level of self-care, while mild and moderate levels of disability were the most common. Disability increased significantly with increasing psoriasis severity. The pharmacist-led educational intervention resulted in significant improvements in self-care practices, along with reductions in disease severity and associated disability.
The study recommended integrating educational programs into the routine care of patients with psoriasis, strengthening the role of pharmacists in educating patients about treatment, self-care practices, healthy lifestyle choices. These measures may improve patients’ adherence to treatment regimens, increase their awareness of the disease and its management, reduce potential complications, enhance their quality of life, improve treatment outcomes.
