Health Literacy in Medicines Use and Pharmacy

Prof. Ahmed Awaisu is a Professor of Clinical Pharmacy & Practice. He is currently the Head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Practice in the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University. His research interest includes outcome-based research, pharmacoepidemiology and medication safety, pharmacy education, and health promotion. Prof. Awaisu has established a medication use optimization research niche using generous funds from Qatar University, Qatar National Research Fund, Hamad Medical Corporation, and other agencies. He has been involved in mentoring PhD, MSc, and undergraduate research projects related to prescribing/deprescribing, medication adherence, medication safety, quality of life, and other health-related outcomes.

Prof. Ahmed Awaisu was the former Associate Editor of Value in Health Regional Issue (CEWAA). He was also the Section Editor (Clinical Pharmacy) for the Elsevier-published textbook entitled “Encyclopedia of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy”. He was also the former Chair of the Qatar University Institutional Review Board.

Prof. Awaisu was the recipient of the “Qatar University Merit Award for Outstanding Faculty” in September 2017 and the “Qatar University Research Excellence Award in Medical, Biomedical and Health Sciences” in April 2019. He was also the recipient of the “Best New Investigator Award” by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) during the 14th Annual ISPOR European Conference in Madrid, Spain in November 2011. He has served as the WHO Lead Consultant for reviewing the health system development in some countries. He is a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), and the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), among others.

The scholar is a very passionate and outstanding scholar whose vision is to make sustainable impact in the society through grooming competent healthcare professionals, mentoring novice researchers, high-impact innovative research, and advancing healthcare.

Dr. Emad Eldin Munsour holds a PhD degree in Pharmacy Practice from Universiti Sains Malaysia and has around 21 years in Pharma-regulatory and compliance area. He looks after the authorization of pharmaceutical products, including evaluation of bioequivalence studies, clinical trials, and Pharmacovigilance system, in addition to CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls). Dr. Emad is the editor of Qatar National Formulary (QNF) and is a professional reviewer for the WHO bulletin and Value in Health Regional issues. He is also involved in many projects related to Qatar National Health Strategy (NHS), including, the National Drug Coding, Generic use and advancement of the pharmaceutical legislative framework. He participated in the activities of National Pharmacovigilance Center (Associate Member of Uppsala Monitoring Center, WHO).

Dr. Emad is currently leading the national pharmaceutical track and trace project in Qatar and actively engaged in GS1 implementation in the healthcare sector; he is also engaged in the development and implementation of national medicines security strategy. Emad is a member of the working group for the establishment of policies and mandates for regulating national pharmaceuticals related Digital Health/e-Health data and interoperability standards.

His research interest in the area of health and medication literacy, drug and poisons information services quality of life and patient reported outcome; he shared his research in various international conferences and published several articles on pharmaceutical care and other pharmacy practice areas.

Prof. Parisa Aslani, PhD, BPharm (Hons), MSc, G Cert Ed Stud (Higher Ed), is a Professor in Medicines Use Optimisation at The University of Sydney School of Pharmacy. Parisa has been a researcher and educator in the field of consumer medicine information and adherence for nearly 30 years. Her areas of research interest include health and medicines information, health literacy, medication adherence and cognitive pharmaceutical services.

Prof. Aslani is currently the Deputy Head of School and Director of Academic Career Development at the School of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney. She is a fellow of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), currently a FIP Vice President, and Immediate Past President of the Health and Medicines Information Section. Prof. Aslani was the Chair of the 81st FIP World Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Congress 2023 held in Brisbane, Australia. She is also a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, and a Foundation Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy.

Dr. Rabia Hussain is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, located in Penang. She is a renowned researcher in the field of medicine safety, pharmacovigilance, medication adherence, and clinical pharmacy. Her research has been published in high-impact journals and focuses on pharmacovigilance, research methods in pharmacy practice, clinical pharmacy, and issues related to medicines use.

Dr. Hussain has collaborated with ReAct - Action on Antibiotic Resistance and Health Action International, Asia Pacific, to improve the use of antibiotics. She is the Section Editor for the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (JoPPP) and has edited "Encyclopaedia of Evidence in Pharmaceutical Public Health and Health Services Research in Pharmacy (Elsevier)". Dr. Hussain is a fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, and she has been nominated as the Apex Young Scholar by Universiti Sains Malaysia.

With over 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical policy and practice research, Prof Zaheer Babar is a global authority and a prolific author in this field. He comes with a long-standing academic career in pharmacy in New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. He is globally known for his work in policy and practice, including quality use of medicines, and issues related to medicines access and pricing.

Prof. Babar has published over 300 papers and is considered the leading researcher in the “pharmacy practice research category”. He has published in high-impact journals such as PLoS Medicine and the Lancet and has acted as a consultant for the WHO, RPS, UNDP, HAI, MSH, FIP, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, World Bank, European Union, and the Pharmaceutical Management Agency of New Zealand. His edited work includes "Economic Evaluation of Pharmacy Services", "Pharmaceutical Prices in the 21st Century", "Pharmaceutical Policies in Countries with Developing Healthcare Systems", "Global Pharmaceutical Policy", "Access to high-cost medicines", "Pharmacy Practice Research Methods", "Pharmacy Practice Research Case Studies" , "Encyclopaedia of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy", and "Encyclopaedia of Evidence in Pharmaceutical Public Health and Health Services Research in Pharmacy". Published by Elsevier and Adis/Springer, his work is used in curriculum design, policy development, and referral all around the globe. Professor Babar is the founding Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice [IF = 4.2], a high-impact publication that provides evidence-based insights and recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. He can be contacted at: [email protected]