Abstract
ObjectiveTo examine the patterns in utilization of community pharmacies and perceptions of the general public towards community pharmacists’ role in health services delivery.MethodA cross-sectional household survey was conducted in Ga West district. A total of 497 adults (18 years and above) were chosen using a three-stage cluster random sampling technique. information on respondents’ contact with community pharmacies (i.e. 12 months prior to the study), reasons for visiting the pharmacies, factors influencing the choice of a particular pharmacy and perception towards community pharmacists’ roles were collected. Data collected were analyzed using stata version 14.Key findingsOut of the 497 respondents, 415 indicated that they had used pharmacies within the last 12 months prior to the study, while 82 indicated that they had not used the facilities within the same time frame. majority of the pharmacy users (33.7%) visited community pharmacies once a month. Approximately 84% of the pharmacy users frequently visited community pharmacies to get treatment for minor ailments. most users (about 75%) chose to visit a particular pharmacy as it was close to their home/workplace/hospital/clinic. More than half of the pharmacy users identified the pharmacist as the first point of contact in case of any drug-related problem. Less than half of the respondents (44.9%) perceived community pharmacists as health professionals with a good balance between health and business matters.ConclusionThe findings of the study suggest that beside the fact that majority of the respondents believe that community pharmacists are responsive, friendlier and have the capacity to handle minor ailments, they are indeed using community pharmacies for the treatment of minor ailments. It will therefore be important to develop appropriate policy and regulations that enables community pharmacies to adequately participate in the delivery of primary care and thereby improve population health.
Highlights
Community pharmacies are an important aspect of the pharmaceutical sector and play a vital role in health care delivery
The findings of the study suggest that beside the fact that majority of the respondents believe that community pharmacists are responsive, friendlier and have the capacity to handle minor ailments, they are using community pharmacies for the treatment of minor ailments
The results of the study suggest that majority of the respondents use community pharmacies for medicinesrelated advice and treatment of minor ailments, with availability and accessibility being key drivers influencing the use of community pharmacies
Summary
Community pharmacies are an important aspect of the pharmaceutical sector and play a vital role in health care delivery. Community pharmacies are ideally positioned to provide health care advice to all category of people [5]. They help to reduce costs associated with health care by lowering the occurrence of expensive forms of treatment such as hospital admissions and emergency room visits that occur due to inadequate drug use and adverse reactions [6]. On the basis of availability, access, convenience and cost, some have suggested that using community pharmacies for the treatment of minor ailments can help optimize healthcare resources by reducing the demand for more costly health care options such as appointments with general practitioners [9,10,11,12]
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