Assessment of community pharmacist's knowledge and skills about appropriate inhaler technique demonstration in Khartoum locality: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Inhalation represents the best choice of administration for the delivery of drugs to treat respiratory disorders such as asthma. Thus, the correct inhaler technique is required to ensure optimal clinical outcomes and improve the quality of life. Community pharmacists are responsible for counseling patients and their knowledge and skills of inhalers. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and skills of community pharmacists in demonstrating different inhalation device techniques in Khartoum locality. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study concerning Khartoum locality pharmacies using a mystery patient method. The data were collected using a checklist for each device, which was filled by the investigator after visiting the pharmacy, and then the data were analyzed descriptively using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results: The study covered 232 pharmacies. Most of the pharmacists get the score of an adequate level of knowledge and skills; the percentage levels for each device were as 58.2%, 65.7%, and 58.8% for pressurized metered-dose inhaler (Ventolin®), dry powder inhaler (Turbuhaler™, Symbicort®), and dry powder inhaler (Diskus™, Seretide®), respectively. However, some of the pharmacists get the score of “don't know.” Although most pharmacists achieve an adequate score, they were varying in percentage when demonstrating critical steps for each device. Conclusion: The community pharmacists who are expected to educate asthmatic patients on how to deal with their inhaler's devices scored an adequate level of knowledge and skill on demonstrating different inhaler's device, so an extra effort should be made to level them up in that area through regular training programs.