title: Impact of community pharmacy-based educational intervention on patients with hypertension in Western Nepal.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a paucity of data regarding the feasibility and impact of community pharmacy-based educational interventions on the management of chronic diseases in developing countries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to establish the feasibility, and to investigate the impact, of community pharmacy-based educational intervention on knowledge, practice, and disease management of patients with hypertension in Western Nepal.
  
  
  METHODS
  A single-cohort pre-/post-intervention study was conducted from August 2012 to April 2013. The participants included in the study were patients diagnosed with hypertension attending a pharmacist-led hypertension clinic. The educational intervention was conducted by pharmacists, was individualised, and consisted of three counselling sessions over a period of six months. The patients' knowledge of hypertension, their practice of lifestyle modification and non-pharmacological approaches concerning hypertension management, and blood pressure were assessed at baseline and again after nine months by using a pre-validated questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty patients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study. The median (IQR) knowledge score changed from 6 (4) to 13 (0) after the intervention (p<0.01) with the median (IQR) practice score changing from 7 (4) to 16 (2) (p<0.01). The mean (SD) systolic BP changed from 150.1 (7.8) to 137.7 (9.9) (p<0.01) and the mean (SD) diastolic BP from 104 (9.5) to 94.5 (7.8) after the intervention (p< 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A simple, educational intervention by community pharmacists had improved patients' disease knowledge, practice, and management of their hypertension. Evidence suggests Nepalese community pharmacists need could play an important role in the management of chronic diseases like hypertension through simple interventions such as providing educational support for patients.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pharmacy and Travel Medicine Division, Sankalpa Foundation, Pokhara, Nepal.
authors.forename: Sushmita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pharmacy and Travel Medicine Division, Sankalpa Foundation, Pokhara, Nepal ; School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Bhuvan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kc
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Alian A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Alrasheedy
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Allied Sciences, Pokhara University, Dhungepatan, Pokhara, Nepal.
authors.forename: Atisammodavardhana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaundinnyayana
authors.affiliation: The British Gurkhas Camp, Pokhara, Nepal.
authors.forename: Aarjan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khanal
keywords: Community pharmacy; Nepal; educational intervention; hypertension