A Pilot Analysis of Pharmacy Students Learning Style Preferences at A Malaysian University

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Abstracts / Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy 10 (2014) e1–e64

and requires little involvement from teaching staff. Other primary care settings have been explored, and will be developed further. Further research is needed to determine whether this experience also facilitates future interdisciplinary work. A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Health Related Quality Of Life among Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia I.S. Alaboudi1, M.A. Hassali1, A.A. Shafie1, K. AlRubeaan2, A. Hassan2, A.A. Alrasheedy1, 1Discipline of Social & Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia, 2University Diabetic Center, King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia This study aimed to describe the Health Related Quality of Life profile of type 2 diabetic population in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was undertaken with a cohort of 75 patients attending the University Diabetic Center at King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition to the demographic and disease related information, EuroQoL (EQ-5D) scale was used for the assessment of Health Related Quality of Life. EQ-5D was scored using values derived from the UK general population survey. Descriptive statistics were used to elaborate demographic and disease related information. Inferential statistics were applied to evaluate the association among study variables. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0 was used for data analysis. P!0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Fifty eight (77.35%) respondents were male with a mean 12.6
8.4 years of history of diabetes. Thirty four (45.3%) were categorized in age group of 45-55 years with mean age of 54
9.2 years. Forty four (58.7%) were using oral hypoglycemic agents and 40 (53.3%) had university level of education. Moderate Health Related Quality of Life (0.71
0.22) level was measured in the study cohort. Gender had a significant association with Health Related Quality of Life scores (p¼0.001) and EQ-VAS score (p ¼ 0.03). The mean EQ-5D score was lower in females compared to male patients (0.58
0.23 vs 0.74
0.20). There was no significant association among Health Related Quality of Life scores and other study variables. Conclusion: In conclusion, the present pilot study manages to highlight that Saudi diabetic patients do have low Health Related Quality of Life. Healthcare professionals need to take into account this factor when coming up with more holistic patient treatment approach. A Pilot Analysis of Pharmacy Students Learning Style Preferences at A Malaysian University F. Saleem1, M.A. Hassali1, H. Aljadhey2, I. Zeehan3, 1 School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia, 2College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 3School of

Languages, Literacy and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia Students have preferences about how they like to learn. Available evidence suggests that understanding students’ learning style is helpful in providing them a successful learning experience. The aim of the study was to determine learning styles preferences of first year pharmacy students enrolled at School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Methods: A non-experimental prospective, cross-sectional study design was used for data collection. The Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic – Learning questionnaire (VAK) was administered to all undergraduates of first year (n¼115). The VAK covers three different learning preferences and suggests that most people can be divided into one of three visual, auditory and kinesthetic preferred styles of learning. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data explanation. SPSS v 17.0 was used for data collection and p!0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Out of 115 respondents, 78 (84.8%) were females with Malay being the prevailing ethnic group. The VAK showed satisfactory internal reliability (a ¼ 0.80). Visual learning style was the most common among the students (n¼45, 48.9%) followed by kinesthetic (n¼29, 31.5%) and auditory learning style (n¼28, 30.0%). Other than ethnicity being significantly associated with auditory learning style (p¼0.039, 4c¼0.304), the preferred learning styles were statistically independent of the demographic variables examined in the study. Conclusions: Based on the results, the respondents preferred to perform a new task after reading the instructions or watching someone else to do it first. Therefore, it is recommended that policy makers and educators take into consideration the learning style preferences of undergraduate pharmacy students when planning, implementing and evaluating educational initiatives. A range of teaching methods and learning activities should be provided in pharmacy education in order to match the variety of learning styles of the students

A Pilot Assessment of Medication Wastage among Pharmacy Students at Universiti Sains Malaysia M.A. Hassali1, F. Saleem1, H. Aljadhey2, 1School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia, 2College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia The study was aimed to identify the extent of medicine wastage and its associated cost among pharmacy undergraduates of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia. Methods: A questionnaire bases, cross-sectional survey was conducted from September to November 2013 at School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USM. Convenience sampling technique was employed for the current study. Data were collected by visiting the students in their rooms and through face-to-face interview. Data