Intervention to improve the knowledge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and syndromic management among community pharmacists in Lagos state, Nigeria

Abstract

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain a public health problem in most parts of the world. The syndromic management approach is based on an STI syndrome and it offers many benefits in the struggle against STIs. Community pharmacists are one of the most accessible and trusted health care professionals. They are well located to reach millions of individuals with STI prevention and control messages and other strategies. This study assesses the knowledge, attitude and practice of community pharmacists of STIs and syndromic management, and provides training as an intervention. The study was a cross sectional pre and post type involving 202 community pharmacists in the 11 zones of Lagos State. Pre-tested questionnaires were self-administered to the community pharmacists before and after training on STI and syndromic management. The findings of this study showed that about 16% of the community pharmacists had good knowledge of STIs and 53% of them had good knowledge on syndromic management. After the training intervention, there was an improvement in their knowledge on STIs and syndromic management of STIs (54 and 70%, respectively). The assessment of the knowledge of community pharmacist on STIs and syndromic management shows that there is need for continuous education in these areas, especially in the early detection and management of the condition.