Abstract
Superficial fungal infections (SFIs) are among the most common skin diseases worldwide and are common in many parts of Asia. Community pharmacists are well-placed to help identify and manage SFIs. However, effective management may be hindered by a suboptimal consultation process, attributed to the misalignment between consumers’ and pharmacists’ viewpoints. The Fungal CARE (Care, Assess, Recommend, Empower) guide, a patient-centered collaborative framework, was developed to improve pharmacist-led SFI consultations in community pharmacy. A survey on real-world consumer experiences with SFIs provided insights for aligning the Fungal CARE guide with consumer perspectives. To further optimize the guide, community pharmacists were surveyed on their current practice and challenges of managing SFIs, as well as views on the usefulness of the Fungal CARE guide. The pharmacists’ survey indicated that respondents engaged with some but not all of consumers’ top concerns with SFIs, such as emotional and social aspects. Pharmacists identified their greatest challenges as poor compliance with SFI treatment and limited confidence in identifying and/or managing SFIs. Encouragingly, when presented with the Fungal CARE guide, nearly all pharmacists agreed it would be helpful and would use it in practice. Implementing the Fungal CARE guide may help improve pharmacist-led consultations for SFIs and encourage better treatment outcomes.
Highlights
Superficial fungal infections (SFIs) are among the most common skin diseases worldwide, affecting nearly one billion people annually [1]
The etiological landscape and causative organisms are relatively similar across the region; for example, tinea imbricata is endemic to Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Clinical features of the condition include skin irritation, redness, itching, swelling, and blisters around the affected area [4]
This paper describes the concept and development of the Fungal CARE guide
Summary
Superficial fungal infections (SFIs) are among the most common skin diseases worldwide, affecting nearly one billion people annually [1]. 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, by helping to reduce the burden on specialist and tertiary care [26,27,28] To deliver on this vision of effective patient-centered community care, pharmacists need the support of an effective consultation process, especially when engaging with consumers to manage their expectations and concerns about treatment outcomes. To optimize the CARE framework for guiding SFI management, the authors drew on real-world insights from two surveys on (i) consumers’ experiences with SFIs and (ii) practicing pharmacists’ perspectives on SFI management and challenges They sought feedback from community pharmacists on the potential applicability and relevance of the Fungal CARE guide. Both consumer and pharmacist perspectives are presented and were used to guide the adaptation of the Fungal CARE guide as a consultation framework for community pharmacists
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