key: cord-0978292-k8dx9hkf authors: dos Santos, Jaqueline Rocha Borges title: Regional drug information center disseminates educational materials related to the COVID-19 pandemic date: 2021-10-15 journal: Explor Res Clin Soc Pharm DOI: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2021.100080 sha: d6cbebcfbc97ab60a4997f4af14524467c43a6a5 doc_id: 978292 cord_uid: k8dx9hkf BACKGROUND: Drug information centers (DIC) play an important role in providing correct and scientifically supported information on medicinal products. In the pandemic scenario, this action is considered fundamental to the process of health education. OBJECTIVE: To describe and identify the dissemination of educational materials and their acceptance regarding the COVID-19 pandemic by a regional drug information center (RDIC) linked to a Brazilian public university. METHOD: The educational materials were disseminated in the communication channels (social media) of the RDIC and university. Seventeen educational notices were produced and disclosed from May to August 2020. The measure of reach was considered to be the number of “likes”, sharing and number of people reached. RESULTS: Overall, 28.9% (n = 4070) of the online visitors “liked” the material about vaccines tested for COVID-19, followed by 12.9% (n = 1824) “likes” of the material about ivermectin for COVID-19 treatment, and 8.9% (n = 1250) “likes” of the material that explained the time necessary to develop and test a vaccine and the duration of the pandemic. CONCLUSION: The interest expressed by the “likes” of educational materials about vaccines indicates that the DIC in question has a strategic role in disseminating scientifically backed information about the COVID-19 pandemic. The structure that formalizes a drug information service is called a drug information center (DIC). A DIC is defined as an operational unit that provides technical-scientific information on drugs in an objective and timely manner, as part of a strategy to meet particular information needs 1 Organization (WHO) recognizes that DICs are among the effective entities to promote the rational use of drugs [2] [3] [4] . DICs gather, analyze, evaluate and provide information on drugs to support their rational use 5, 6 . DICs support the clinical practice of health professionals in drug therapy of patients. For that, DICs must provide clear, precise, impartial, timely and applicable information on drugs, in order to promote their rational use 7, 8 . To achieve this goal, they use objective, updated and pertinent technical-scientific information, duly processed and critically evaluated. Despite the advances in recent years, the drug policy in Brazil is still insufficient because of continued irrational and unsafe medication use [9] [10] [11] , exhibiting a need for more actions in prevention policies and promotion of the rational use of medicines. This could include educational campaigns in schools and universities, public health messages on television and within health services, and continuing education for prescribers. Therefore, the location of DIC in a university environment favors strong interaction of research groups and teaching activities 12, 13 , with educational actions extended to society, on the rational use of medicines. The irrational use of drugs is a major public health problem worldwide, with major economic consequences. However, when used appropriately, drugs are the most cost-effective therapeutic resources 14, 15 . The rational use of drugs involves two fundamental actors: the prescriber and patients (individual and collective). These actors interact in a dynamic way. The prescriber, on the one importance is the pharmacist, since the promotion of the rational use of medicines is strongly related to the process of dispensing medicines 16, 17 . In addition, the pandemic has caused a paradigm shift and increased the work of DICs with respect to patient care 18 to strengthen communication between prescriber, patient and pharmacist, from providing adequate information to promoting the rational use of medicines. The Regional Drug Information Center (RDIC) of Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) began its activities in 2015. The physical structure is located in the premises of the Health Division of UFRRJ. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the activities carried out by the RDIC have been directed to remote action, involving the construction and dissemination of health educational materials for disclosure via the university's communication channels, with emphasis on the use of drugs. In this context, the dissemination of clear and reliable information is fundamental for the purpose of health promotion. The objective of this work is to describe and identify the dissemination of educational materials and their acceptance by the public regarding the COVID-19 pandemic prepared by a DIC in Brazil. In March 2020, the staff of the RDIC, consisting of 10 pharmacy students and one pharmaceutical teacher, decided to act in the fight against the pandemic. For this, a program was organized with the definition of themes and periods for publication, from March to August 2020. The themes and corresponding educational materials were defined and prepared by a pharmacist and eight pharmacy students, according to the demand for topics about COVID-19 drugs that appeared in the media and became popular on Table 1 shows the themes, and period of disclosure of the 17 educational materials prepared and disclosed. For data analysis, "likes", shares, and reach were considered as inclusion factors. Comments were excluded in the analysis of the publications of the educational materials. The results were measured from the number of "likes" and sharing, both The results showed there was strong interest about vaccines for COVID-19, clinical studies, the time to develop and approve a vaccine and how the vaccines are produced. The next most popular notice was the one on the lack of scientific evidence for the use of the ivermectin, its side effects and risks of selfmedication. It is believed that the number of people reached was greater than quantified because the data presented here include only publicly accessible numbers. Access to the communication channels managed by the RDIC made it possible to quantify the reach represented by "views", "likes" and shares in the The University social communication office did not disseminate ten materials in the university channels. Therefore, only 7/17 materials were disseminated in all four communication channels (social media). In addition, consumer opinion of the material was not explored and systematic validation with experts and readers was not undertaken for the educational materials produced. Some materials were also shared at UFRRJ's official Twitter site. These data were not considered. Ivermectin studied for COVID- 19 June 1, 2020 Dangers of the use of veterinary medicine in humans June 4, 2020 Coronavirus residence time on surfaces June 5, 2020 Substances that were on the special control list during the pandemic: hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine and nitazoxamide June 8, 2020 The importance of taking the medicine with water June 10, 2020 Self-medication and risks involved June 28, 2020 Vaccines: learn about the main vaccines being tested against COVID-19 Pharmacy Information Section. Access to Medicines Information Working Group. 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