Abstract
BackgroundIdeally situated within the community, pharmacists can be involved in a broad range of health promotion campaigns including prevention of obesity. Limited evidence is available regarding their involvement in weight management in Lebanon, a country with escalating prevalence rate of obesity.ObjectiveTo examine the role of community pharmacists in weight management in Lebanon, specifically studying their beliefs, current practices, services, and knowledge.MethodsUsing a stratified random sampling approach, a cross sectional national survey of community pharmacists was conducted (n = 341, response rate 89%). At the pharmacy, and through a face-to-face interview, pharmacists completed a multi-component questionnaire that addressed, in addition to socio-demographic and work characteristics, their beliefs, practices, knowledge in relation to weight management. Frequencies and proportions were used to describe the data. Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the determinants of knowledge in the study population.ResultsOver 80% of study participants agreed that they have an important role to play in weight management. However, 50% of pharmacists did not agree that weight loss products are well regulated and 81.1% thought that companies marketing weight loss products are making false promises. The majority of pharmacists always/often sold weight loss products (84.7%) and counseled their patients for diet (86.3%) and physical activity (91.7%). Despite taking weight and height measurements, 50% of pharmacists rarely/never calculated BMI. Among the pharmacists who reported side effects of weight loss products (46.5%), the majority (91.3%) did so to the pharmaceutical company. The knowledge of pharmacists was better for the use of weight loss products as opposed to their side effects and interactions. Significant predictors of knowledge were holding a Masters/ PhD degree in Pharmacy, graduating from a university inside Lebanon, obtaining weight management training within the academic degree, and receiving inquiries about weight management in the pharmacy more than once daily.ConclusionsThe results of the study provided important insights on the beliefs, practices and knowledge of community pharmacists in weight management in Lebanon. These findings could be used to inform the development of future evidence-based community pharmacists led weight management service provision nationally and internationally.
Highlights
Situated within the community, pharmacists can be involved in a broad range of health promotion campaigns including prevention of obesity
Order of Pharmacy in Lebanon (OPL). This is the first national study to examine the role of pharmacists in weight management in Lebanon and to shed light on their beliefs, practices and knowledge regarding weight management and weight loss products
The results of this study showed that considerable proportions of surveyed pharmacists agreed that resources in terms of time, space, staff, remuneration, and relevant equipment were all common barriers to providing weight management services
Summary
Situated within the community, pharmacists can be involved in a broad range of health promotion campaigns including prevention of obesity. Limited evidence is available regarding their involvement in weight management in Lebanon, a country with escalating prevalence rate of obesity. Over the past 30 years, the prevalence of obesity has been increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. It is described as a global pandemic with currently more than 1.9 billion adults being overweight of which more than 650 million are obese [1]. There is an eminent need to control the escalating burden of obesity through the implementation of evidence-based interventions for weight management [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
