Assessment of the Level of Knowledge about Migraines and Medication Among Pharmacy Technicians/Eczane Teknisyenleri Arasinda Migren ve Ilacla Ilgili Bilgi Duzeyinin Degerlendirilmesi

Objective: A limited number of studies focus on pharmacy technicians (PT) and their knowledge level regarding migraines. The present study aimed to determine their level of awareness and knowledge regarding migraines and migraine treatment. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine in Kayseri, Turkiye. It was conducted from February 2019 to May 2019 and completed with the participation of 324 PTs (75.8% response rate). Forms containing questions about the diagnosis of migraines, the characteristics, and the treatments were administered to the PTs in person and then evaluated by a neurologist. Results: The ratio of PTs who knew of a drug therapy that reduced migraine attacks was 10.2%. Most PTs (85.2%) had no training in migraine treatment and obtained knowledge from their work experience. Ninety-one participants (28.1%) recommended medication to patients who visited the pharmacy due to headaches. When asked about the drug they recommend for migraines, 29.6% suggested ergotamine, 26.9% suggested analgesics, and 15.7% suggested triptans. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that PTs working in pharmacies that support primary care services might not have sufficient awareness and knowledge about migraine treatments, and appropriate training should be provided on this subject. Keywords: Migraine, pharmacy technician, public health Amac: Migren ile ilgili sinirli sayidaki calismada eczane teknisyenlerinin (ET) bilgi duzeyine odaklanilmistir. Bu calismada migren ve migren tedavisi ile ilgili farkindaligin ve bilgi duzeylerinin belirlenmesi amaclanmistir. Gerec ve Yontem: Bu kesitsel calisma Erciyes Universitesi Tip Fakultesi Kayseri ili Turkiye'de yurutulmustur. Subat 2019-Mayis 2019 tarihleri arasinda gerceklestirilmis ve 324 ET'nin (%75,8 yanit orani) katilimi ile tamamlanmistir. Migren tanisi, ataklarin ozellikleri ve tedavisi ile ilgili sorulari iceren formlar direkt ET'lere uygulanmistir. Daha sonra bir norolog tarafindan formlar degerlendirilmistir. Bulgular: Migren ataklarini azaltan ilac tedavisini bilen ET orani %10,2 idi. Cogu ET (%85,2) migren tedavisi konusunda egitim almamis ve is yeri deneyimlerinden bilgi edinmistir. Doksan bir katilimci (%28,1) bas agrisi nedeniyle eczaneye gelen hastalara ilac onerdiklerini soyledi. Migren icin onerdikleri ilac soruldugunda, %29,6'si ergotamin, %26,9'si analjezik ve %15,7'si ise triptan onermistir. Sonuc: Bu calismanin sonuclari, birinci ba