Community pharmacist's perceptions and practice behaviors related to traditional and complementary medicines in China: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

IntroductionThe pharmacist's role in ensuring the safe and proper use of traditional/complementary medicines is well-recognized but the scope of responsibilities is yet to be defined. In order to inform the development of a responsibility framework, this study investigated community pharmacist's perceptions and practice behaviors associated with traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) in China. MethodsA survey was developed and disseminated online to community pharmacists across 31 provincial administrative areas in China during July-August 2018. The survey instrument was also evaluated for utility and usability. ResultsOut of 279 community pharmacists invited to participate, 190 (69.9%) from 29 provincial administrative areas completed the survey including 61 TCMs-licensed pharmacists (32.1%), 69 Western Medicine-licensed pharmacists (36.3%), and 60 practicing pharmacists (31.6%). All participants’ practice involved TCMs. In response to ten proposed responsibilities associated with TCMs, the Likert scores (level of agreement) acknowledging these responsibilities (mean=4.08/5, range=3.86–4.23/5) was higher compared to the scores for what participants actually did in day to day practice (mean=3.92/5, range=3.56–4.12/5). Barriers to incorporating the ten responsibilities were mainly competence-related including: education and training in integrative medicine; having a TCM-related qualification; and the category of pharmacist. Four participants reported the survey questions were difficult to understand and two participants reported the survey took too long to complete. ConclusionCommunity pharmacists in China acknowledged the importance of the proposed professional responsibilities associated with TCMs although this is not reflected in day to day practice. The survey developed in this study can be used in larger studies to evaluate this topic further.