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Applied Science Private University

Volume Volume 17, 2023 · Issue 1 · Open Access · Double-blind Peer-review

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Hypothesis

Exploring Awareness of Health Conditions Associated with Metabolic Syndrome Amongst Pharmacy Students

Majdoleen Aqel1 & Iman Basheti1,2

1 Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan.

2 School of pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Heath, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

* Corresponding author: Iman Basheti ([email protected])

Published: 30 Dec 2023

https://doi.org/10.35192/jjoas-n.v17i1.459
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Abstract

Background: Despite the increasing global recognition of metabolic syndrome (MeS) as an underlying cause of cardiovascular risks, limited research has been conducted regarding the awareness of this emerging problem among pharmacy students. This study aims to determine pharmacy students' levels of knowledge and awareness concerning MeS and its associated cardiovascular risks.

Methods: A web-based survey was administered to 332 pharmacy college students from eight universities in Jordan during March 2017 and March 2018. The survey included questions related to seven conditions associated with MeS: diabetes, adiposity, hypertension (HTN), high serum cholesterol (hyperlipidemia), arteriosclerosis, stroke, and myocardial infarction (MI). Knowledge scores per question were categorized as follows: "good knowledge" if 81-100% of students answered correctly, "fair knowledge" if 51-80% answered correctly, and "poor knowledge" if 50% or fewer answered correctly. A poisson regression model was used to regress total knowledge scores on study parameters.

Results: Overall, the results indicated that pharmacy students were most familiar with knowledge about stroke, with an average percentage of correct answers of 65.8%. Conversely, students were least familiar with MI, as only 35.1% of the questions related to this condition were answered correctly. A significant gap in knowledge regarding HTN and MI was evident, as a good level of knowledge was lacking for all questions related to these two conditions. Gender (being a female), a student's cumulative grade point average (GPA), and the year in college (one to five years) were positively associated with higher knowledge levels.

Conclusions: The outcomes of this study suggest that awareness of MeS among pharmacy students is lacking in several important aspects. This study may have implications that can be effectively harnessed in pharmacy education modalities within the academic sphere.

KeywordsMetabolic SyndromePharmacy StudentsCardiovascular diseasesDiabetes

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