title: Results of the feasibility test of the Practical Approach to Lung Health in the Syrian Arab Republic.
abstract: We assessed implementation of the Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL) in primary care facilities in the Syrian Arab Republic and its short-term impact on respiratory care in patients aged 5+ years. After training on PAL for 76 general practitioners in 75 health centres, referrals and sputum smear examinations for patients increased. The mean number of drugs prescribed per patient decreased by 14.8% and that of antibiotics by 33.3%, while prescriptions for inhaled medications increased. The mean cost of drug prescriptions fell by 26.2%.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Me'emary
authors.forename: S-E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Ottmani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pio
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baghdadi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Assafin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koraym
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saleh
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bashour
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seita
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blanc
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000458:organization & administration; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013593:Syria; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D014944:World Health Organization / Q000458:organization & administration