Abstract

BackgroundObesity is now widely regarded as a main contributor to poor health. Involvement of community pharmacists can be a valuable tool in obesity management. However, there is still a lack of data in Malaysia on the potential involvement of and opportunities for community pharmacists in providing weight management services. Thus, it is essential to investigate the perceptions of the general public on weight management services in the community pharmacy setting. To evaluate the general public’s perceptions on weight management services by community pharmacists in terms of perceived availability, utilization and factors influencing acceptability of services.MethodsA descriptive, cross sectional-survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire comprising of sections that focused on public preferences and options on weight management approaches, perceived availability of extended services and resources provided by community pharmacists in relation to weight management, utilization of these services and resources, and factors influencing acceptability of weight management services provided by community pharmacists. The questionnaires were distributed to the general public aged 18 years and above in Klang Valley, Malaysia.ResultsA total of 730 respondents with a median age of 31 years participated in this study. Majority of respondents ranked dieticians as their preferred first line of consultation, with only about a quarter of respondents ranking community pharmacists as their preferred first or second line of consultation. Although more than half show of the study respondents perceived that community pharmacies they had visited offered services for measuring weight, height, blood pressure, blood glucose and blood cholesterol, fewer perceived that community pharmacies provided advice on physical activity and healthy eating to achieve weight loss. Additionally, majority of the respondents indicated that they had not utilized these services. However, most respondents perceived that community pharmacists should provide weight management services. The main factors influencing acceptability show of services included training of pharmacists, payment, waiting time and the issue of privacy.ConclusionThe findings of this study demonstrated that the majority of respondents were in support of weight management services in community pharmacy; however only a low percentage reported utilizing these services. Factors influencing acceptability of services included payment, waiting time and the issue of privacy. With adequate training among pharmacists and increased awareness of services among the public, community pharmacists could play a larger and important role in addressing the issue of obesity in Malaysia.

Highlights

  • Obesity is widely regarded as a main contributor to poor health

  • Study design A cross-sectional survey was conducted to gather the views of the general public in Klang Valley, Malaysia on weight management services in community pharmacy

  • This study explored the Malaysian general public’s views in relation to weight management services provided by community pharmacists, an area which was relatively unknown

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Summary

Introduction

Involvement of community pharmacists can be a valuable tool in obesity management. There is still a lack of data in Malaysia on the potential involvement of and opportunities for community pharmacists in providing weight management services. To evaluate the general public’s perceptions on weight management services by community pharmacists in terms of perceived availability, utilization and factors influencing acceptability of services. Obesity has become a serious health problem that often leads to multiple health risks. Obesity has become a leading health issue in many countries in Southeast Asia including Malaysia [5]. Malaysia has recently been ranked second highest in East and Southeast Asia in terms of the population being overweight. The Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) in 2006 conducted among 33, 055 adults found 29.1% were overweight and 14.0% obese [6]. It is worthwhile to seek a national strategy for tackling these problems [10]

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