Intervention Study on Pharmacists’ Knowledge and Counselling on Ophthalmic Preparations in a Tertiary Hospital in South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

The study aimed to assess hospital pharmacists’ knowledge and counselling on ophthalmic preparations before and after an educational intervention was carried out. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 83 pharmacists working at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. A 30-item semi-structured questionnaire was administered to participants to assess their background knowledge and counselling points on use of ophthalmic preparations. An educational intervention was carried out among the pharmacists to address the gaps discovered. Post-intervention assessment of the pharmacists’ knowledge and counselling on ophthalmic preparations was done a month after the educational intervention to evaluate the impact of the intervention. Data obtained was summarised using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Response rate was 79% (83/105). Fifty-six (67.5%) participants were female and 38 (45.7%) had other educational qualification(s) aside from the basic Bachelor of Pharmacy qualification. The average knowledge scores of the pharmacists on ophthalmic preparations increased from 2.55 ± 1.602 at baseline to 7.93 ± 2.879 post-intervention (p < 0.001). Also, the average counselling scores of the pharmacists on ophthalmic preparations increased from 8.12 ± 1.603 at baseline to 11.46 ± 1.0277 post-intervention (p < 0.001). Years of working experience and postgraduate education were predictors of participants’ knowledge and counselling on ophthalmic preparations. The study addressed the knowledge and counselling gaps identified and there was significant improvement in the knowledge and counselling of the study participants, vis-à-vis ophthalmic preparations.