KAPs of Pharmacists Attending to Ophthalmic Patients in Nigerian Public Hospitals

Abstract

Pharmacists' instructions at the time of dispensing ophthalmic medications are crucial in terms of patient compliance and efficacy of therapy. The aim of this study was to appraise knowledge, attitude and practices (KAPs) of pharmacists attending specifically to ophthalmic patients with regards to ophthalmic dispensing. It was a prospective, non-randomized study based on fully consented consecutive respondents. There were 30 respondents, 16 (53.3%) were males and 14 (46.7%) were females. The average age of the study group was 32 years +/- 8.36.Majority, 23(76.7%) were either unaware or disagreed with the potential benefit of puctal occlusion following eye drop application. Less than 50% of the respondents got the order of applying various forms of topical preparations and know eye ointment should mostly be applied at bed time to avoid blurring patients' vision. The waiting interval between topical medications were found to vary significantly with as much as 8(26.7%) giving no specific interval. No respondent knew other forms of local routes of ophthalmic drug administration aside topicals. It is concluded that pharmacists in these institutions will benefit from education related to ophthalmic dispensing and drug administration.