Awareness about the Establishment of Clinical Evidence among Community Pharmacists: A Large-scale Survey among Members of the Okayama Pharmaceutical Association

Abstract

Community pharmacists in Japan participate in many important clinical cases involving drug therapies. This involvement should be researched and widely publicized to promote evidence-based medicine (EBM). However, the awareness level about the establishment of clinical evidence among community pharmacists remains unknown. Therefore, this large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted among members of the Okayama Pharmaceutical Association to clarify the awareness about the establishment of clinical evidence among community pharmacists to determine the major factors affecting their awareness. Questionnaires requiring open-ended responses were developed in Google Forms. Finally, 366 valid answers were obtained and statistically analyzed based on three aspects: academic conference presentation, research article publication, and research conduct. More than 50% of the participants agreed that they must engage in the establishment of clinical evidence. However, they were unwilling to engage in it by themselves. Additionally, the awareness about the establishment of clinical evidence among participants aged <40 years, who underwent a 6-year course, and with presentation experience was greater than that among participants aged ≥40 years, who underwent a 4-year course and without presentation experience. Thus, age, course duration, and presentation experience are important factors influencing awareness about the establishment of clinical evidence. Further, >70% of the participants did not have enough time to engage in the establishment of clinical evidence, suggesting that reducing workload and ensuring adequate time are necessary for such engagements. Our novel findings may increase the establishment of clinical evidence by community pharmacists, improve community pharmacists' social standing, and promote EBM in Japan.