Community Pharmacy Professionals Research Articles

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Community Pharmacy Professionals on Poultry Antibiotic Dispensing, Use, and Bacterial Antimicrobial Resistance in Zambia: Implications on Antibiotic Stewardship and WHO AWaRe Classification of Antibiotics.

Globally, the inappropriate dispensing and use of antibiotics in animals has contributed to the development of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Zambia, there is insufficient information among community pharmacy professionals on antibiotic use (ABU) and AMR in food-producing animals. This study assessed community pharmacy professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding poultry antibiotic dispensing, use, and bacterial AMR in the Lusaka district of Zambia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 178 community pharmacy professionals between February and April 2022 using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Stata version 17. Of the total participants (n = 178), 51.1% (n = 91) were pharmacists. The most dispensed antibiotic was oxytetracycline, a Watch antibiotic, mainly without prescriptions. Good knowledge of ABU and AMR was associated with work experience for more than one year (p = 0.016), while good practices were associated with male gender (p = 0.039) and work experience of more than one year (p = 0.011). The study found moderate knowledge, positive attitudes, and moderate practices of pharmacy professionals on poultry ABU and AMR. There was high dispensing of poultry antibiotics without prescriptions, which calls for strict implementation of antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance programs in poultry production in Zambia to reduce AMR.

Role of Community Pharmacist in Public Health Services, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background and Aims: Currently, the scope of practice has allowed pharmacists to engage in the clinical aspects of direct patient care and public health services to the patient. This study's main objective is to investigate community pharmacists' involvement in public health services and the barriers in the health system that hinder the integration of community pharmacy professionals into the public health task in the local context of Saudi Arabia.
 Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in community pharmacies in a different region of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (June and July 2019). A sample was calculated to include 431 pharmacists working in different community pharmacies proportionally randomly selected from the five areas in Riyadh city. A multistage, stratified, random sample method was used. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software. A P value < 0.05 considered as statistically significant.
 Results: The 431 participants showed the dominance of male pharmacists (97.2%), non-Saudi (84.9%), and Bachelor’s pharmacy degrees (81.2%). Most of the participants were involved in smoking cessation (83.1%) as public health services, weight management (62.4%), but less involvement in activities related to physical activities or dietary intake (33.0%, 31.8%, respectively). More likely the involvement of the Saudi pharmacist in lifestyle activities in comparison to non-Saudi (AOR:1.932; 95% CI: 1.125 - 3.320). Moreover, the perceived barrier in the involvement level was more associated with years of experience.
 Conclusion: This study showed that community pharmacists should play an important role in health promotion and prevention; they recognize a wide gap between ideal and actual levels of participation. The researcher presents the main barriers to the role of the pharmacist to improve the level of the individual and society because many obstacles limit the role of the pharmacist in public health.

Self-reported and the actual involvement of community pharmacy professionals in the management of acute childhood diarrhea in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia: Simulated patient visits and survey study

BackgroundAcute childhood diarrhea is one of the most common causes of dehydration, and if severe, can potentially lead to death as well. The present study was aimed at evaluating the knowledge and attitudes of community pharmacy professionals towards the management of acute childhood diarrhea and comparing them with their actual practices in Jazan Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A). MethodsSimulated patient visits and a cross-sectional survey making use of a 27-item self-report questionnaire were conducted amongst a sample of 303 community pharmacy professionals (51.2 % male and 48.8 % female) with an age range of 25–56 years, between August 1 and December 1, 2021, in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia. Convenience sampling technique was used for the recruitment of the participants. ResultsSignificant positive correlations were seen between knowledge score (self-report survey) and practice score (simulated patient visit) regarding patients’ history taking (r = 0.65; p < 0.01), drug recommendations (r = 0.71; p < 0.01) and providing information regarding food and fluid intake (r = 0.44; p < 0.01). The alpha coefficients for all the items of the survey instrument were noted to be greater than (or) equal to the 0.70 threshold for almost all sections, hence indicating good reliability and internal consistency of the developed scale. ConclusionIn the present study, even though we observed improved participants’ performance during the self report survey, their performance level greatly dropped in actual practice. This warrants for a need for educational programs to improve their actual dispensing practices. The present study has also shown simulated patient visits to be a reliable, simple and a robust method of assessing the actual dispensing practices of community pharmacy professionals.

Sensibilisation à l’automédication responsable au cours de la maladie de Parkinson : réalisation de fiche sur les interactions médicamenteuses et évaluation par les patients et les professionnels de l’officine

Parkinson disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. Symptomatic treatment is based on dopaminergic medications. In case of self-medication practices, there may be drug-drug interactions between over-the-counter medication and dopaminergic medications. Thus, the aim of our work was to develop a practical guide summarizing drug-drug interactions and assess it by patients and community pharmacy professionals. We performed a systematic analysis of drug-drug interactions between OTC medications available in France and antiparkinsonians (ATC Class N04) using Theriaque® and Drugs® databases, and summarized the results in a practical guide. We assessed patients' satisfaction by a questionnaire administered to hospitalized patients in a French expert center for Parkinson's disease. We estimated the impact of the guide on community pharmacy professionals through a survey online, by satisfaction, knowledge acquisition and estimated awareness in professional context. We identified 16 OTC medication, related to seven symptoms, interacting with antiparkinsonians. We obtained 67 responses from patients, expressing high satisfaction. We obtained 101 responses from professionals, reporting high satisfaction, knowledge acquisition and increased awareness in professional context. Our results highlight the relevance of the guide and suggest that we may increase its dissemination to patients and community pharmacies.

Community pharmacy professionals\u2019 practice in responding to minor symptoms experienced by pregnant women in Ethiopia: results from sequential mixed methods

BackgroundIn countries with limited access to healthcare services, community pharmacists’ management of minor symptoms experienced by pregnant women could be beneficial in terms of alleviating the burden of other health professionals and cost of services. However, evidence is limited regarding the practice of community pharmacy professionals in responding to minor pregnancy-related symptoms more generally, particularly in Ethiopia.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate actual and self-reported practice of community pharmacists in the management of minor symptoms during pregnancy in Ethiopia.MethodsA sequential mixed method study using self-reported survey from 238 community pharmacists followed by 66 simulated client visits was conducted from March to July 2020 in six towns of the Amhara regional state in Ethiopia. Independent samples t-test and one-way Analysis of Variance was used to test the mean difference of practice score among subgroups of study participants.ResultsThe self-reported survey showed that most community pharmacist would ‘always’ gather most symptom-related information particularly about ‘duration of symptoms,’ ‘frequency of symptoms,’ and ‘gestational age’ and provide medication-related information on ‘how to use the medication’ and ‘duration of use.’ The highest mean practice scores were observed in relation to information gathering about ‘gestational age’ and information provision on ‘how to use the medication.’ In contrast, the lowest mean practice scores were observed in relation to information gathering about ‘weight of the woman’ and information provision on ‘dosage form.’However, the actual practice, as revealed by the simulated client visits, demonstrated that most community pharmacists would rarely gather symptom-related information nor provide medication-related information. In addition, dispensing of non-prescribed medications to pregnant women was also common. The extent of self-reported practice differed among subgroups of study participants.ConclusionsThis study highlights extent of practice of community pharmacy professionals during the management of minor symptoms in pregnancy in Ethiopia. Discrepancies of results between self-reported and actual practices of community pharmacy professionals were observed. The inadequate actual practice of symptom-related information gathering and medication-related information provisions needs considerations of implementing interventions to minimize potential harms.

Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study on Perceptions and Roles of Community Pharmacists in the Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Disorders in Northwest Ethiopia.

IntroductionCommunity pharmacy professionals are among the initial healthcare providers and could play crucial roles in preventing and managing cardiovascular disorders. This study aimed to assess perceptions and involvements of community pharmacy professionals in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disorders in Gondar city and nearby rural towns, Northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA multi-centered cross-sectional survey was conducted on community pharmacy professionals in Gondar city and the nearby rural towns from June to July 2021. Independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to show mean score differences of pharmacists towards the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases. A 95% confidence interval with a P-value of < 0.05 in the tests was considered statistically significant.ResultsOf the 223 initial samples, 210 completed the survey and resulted in a 94.2% response rate. The average perception and involvement scores of the community pharmacy professionals towards the prevention and treatment of the cardiovascular syndromes were 4.1 and 3.8, respectively. Numerous professionals (>86%) agreed on weight reductions, alcohol consumption restrictions and physical exercises to decrease cardiovascular risks. Pharmacy professionals recruited from Gondar city had significantly higher mean scores compared with pharmacy professionals involved from rural towns (P < 0.001). A significant difference in mean involvement score was also noted in regarding the numbers of clients serving/day (P = 0.026).ConclusionCommunity pharmacy professionals had good perceptions on prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases. However, their level of involvement in measuring weight, blood pressure and glucose level, dispensing equipment for home blood pressure and glucose monitoring and keeping records of patients needs to be encouraged. Professionals might benefit from enhanced training to increase their knowledge and confidence.

The Influence of Cognitive Styles as Promoters of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Intrapreneurship as Drivers of Innovation: The Case of Pharmacy Professionals in Portugal

Innovation in the community pharmacy field has extreme importance in building customer loyalty and competitiveness and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, its value was even more noted. Thus, in this study, we aimed to assess the influence of cognitive styles (rational and intuitive) on individual entrepreneurial orientation and intrapreneurship and how they impact innovation. A questionnaire was applied to 209 community pharmacy professionals in Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic, and PLS-SEM was used to statistically analyze the data obtained. For the results, we perceived those cognitive styles’ (rational and intuitive) impact on individual entrepreneurial orientation and partially on intrapreneurship, and this innovation is explained by individual entrepreneurial orientation and intrapreneurship. For the theoretical implications, we have contributed to the advancement of knowledge by establishing and understanding the relationship between the different dimensions suggested and, at the practical level for management, we have perceived where to act at the individual level, to improve innovation and provide suggestions in the directions suggested here. This study is original and innovative because there are no general studies in the literature that have related all the dimensions addressed here, and there is little current research in the community pharmacy field.

The real impact of COVID-19 on community pharmacy professionals as part of the primary health care frontier workforce in Spain

Context: Spain was at the epicenter of the pandemic. Health centers across Spanish territory were not able to respond to non-emergency enquiries, leaving community pharmacies as the first point of patient’s contact. Aims: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the mental and physical health of community pharmacy teams across Spain. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was performed with community pharmacy professionals throughout Spain. A questionnaire designed by our collaborator from the United Kingdom was adapted to the Spanish population and launched between October 2020 and February 2021. Results: A total of 98 participants responded to the questionnaire. The survey showed an 80% increase in workload. The pandemic had negatively impacted the well-being of community pharmacy professionals. The survey indicated a national shortage of medicines and personal protective equipment across Spain, particularly during the first peak. To adapt to this pandora’s box of COVID-19, 96% of the pharmacies changed their settings to improve patients and staff’s safety. Most of these changes were self-financed by the pharmacy owner. The pharmacists kept up to date with information released from the pharmacists’ college, General Pharmaceutical Council and the Spanish Society of Community Pharmacists. The Public domain purchased more (79%) immune booster supplements. Conclusions: Community pharmacy professionals have faced tremendous mental, physical and professional pressure in providing adequate personal protective equipment and medication supply to their communities. They have provided more pharmaceutical services during the crisis, although they have not been recognized as essential workers by the healthcare system.

Assessment of Community Pharmacy Professionals' Attitude and Perception Towards Ethical Issues in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Survey 2020.

PurposeThe objective of this study was to assess the attitude and perception of community pharmacy professionals’ towards ethical issues.MethodsWe have undertaken a cross-sectional study among community pharmacy professionals in three selected towns (Gondar, Bahir Dar, and Debra Markos) of Amhara region in Ethiopia from February to March 2020. All community pharmacy professionals who were giving services during the data collection period were the study population. We used a pretested, semi-structured questionnaire developed from a review of previous study. Epi-info 7.1 was used for data entry, and SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Logistic regression was done, and a variable with a p-value < 0.05 with 95% confidence interval was considered to be associated with outcome variable.ResultsA total of 305 community pharmacy professionals participated in the study with a response rate of 95.3%. About 252 (82.6%) of respondents received education regarding professional ethics. Majority (89.8%) of the participants had ever accessed ethical information at their work site. Only 145 (47.5%) participants had ever recorded ethical issues in their working site. The most common reasons that obstruct to explain ethical issues to customers were shortage of time (85.9%), unavailability of reliable resources (40.0%), and poor ethical knowledge (37.7%). The reporting rate of respondents is less than 50% for most ethical scenarios. Sex, age, educational status, work experience, number of customers per day, working site, information about ethics, and training about ethics were observed to have a significant association with attitude and perception of community pharmacy professionals towards ethical issues.ConclusionCommunity pharmacy professionals had poor attitude and perception towards ethical issues. Interventions should be devised to uphold ethical awareness of community pharmacy professionals. A large-scale study is also recommended.

Investigating Community Pharmacy Take Home Naloxone Dispensing during COVID-19: The Impact of One Public Health Crisis on Another.

A recent report found that the number of opioid-related deaths in Ontario in the first 15 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic was 38.2% higher than in the 15 weeks before the pandemic. Our study sought to determine if pharmacy professionals self-reported an increase or decrease in naloxone provision due to the pandemic and to identify adjustments made by pharmacy professionals to dispense naloxone during the pandemic. A total of 231 Ontario community pharmacy professionals completed an online survey. Pharmacy professionals’ barriers, facilitators, and comfort level with dispensing naloxone before and during the pandemic were identified. The sample consisted of mostly pharmacists (99.1%). Over half (51.1%) reported no change in naloxone dispensing, while 22.9% of respondents reported an increase and 24.7% a decrease. The most common adjustments made during the pandemic were training patients how to administer naloxone over video or phone, delivering naloxone kits, and pharmacy technicians offering naloxone at prescription intake. Over half (55%) of participants said the top barrier for dispensing was that patients did not request naloxone. Naloxone distribution through pharmacies could be further optimized to address the increased incidence of overdose deaths during the pandemic. Future research should investigate the reasons for changes in naloxone dispensing.

A qualitative exploration of barriers in accessing community pharmacy services for persons with disability in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a cross sectional phenomenological study

BackgroundIt was estimated that over a billion people have a disability and around 110 to 190 million experienced significant difficulties in functioning. Similarly, there were over 5 million and 32,630 individuals with disability in Ethiopia and Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, respectively. Health care is a human right, yet access barriers to healthcare remain one of the major challenges among people with disabilities. Community pharmacists are often the health system point of entry for most patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the barriers to community pharmacy service for individuals with physical, visual and hearing disability in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross sectional phenomenological qualitative study design was employed to explore the barriers to community pharmacy service for individuals with Physical, Visual and Hearing disability. All members from Ethiopian National Association of the Blind (ENAB), Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf (ENAD) and Ethiopian National Association of persons with Physical Disability (ENAPPD) and all community pharmacy professionals in Addis Ababa were the study populations in this study. The analysis was made using content analysis where ideas were classified into themes manually.ResultAll informants with disability pointed out that community pharmacy services were not accessible to them. The study found transportation, physical layout, communication and medication price were the main barriers to obtain community pharmacy services among individuals with visual, physical and hearing disabilities. Respondents also witnessed that pharmacists provided proper counseling and were also cooperative and willing to help them.ConclusionsThis study indicated that individuals with disability experienced different access barriers to community pharmacy services. Further studies are recommended to identify other community pharmacy disparities and access barriers to pharmacy services and propose possible solutions.

History taking and response to an adult diarrheal case among community drug retail outlets in Gondar town, north-west Ethiopia: a simulated-client survey

BackgroundSelf-care is one of the growing tasks of community pharmacy professionals. They are highly engaged in consultations in response to specific drug request (product-based presentation) or symptoms clients describe (symptom-based presentation).PurposeThis study was aimed at assessing the appropriateness of patient assessment and response to an adult diarrheal case among community drug retail outlets in Gondar town, north-west Ethiopia.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study design based on simulated-client method of visit was conducted from 03 August to 21 September, 2020. An adult female diarrheal case scenario was developed and used to guide data collectors to interact with professionals in a standardized and consistent way. All 60 dispensaries in the town during the data collection were included in the study. A pretested data collection tool was used to record the conversation between simulated clients and providers. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.ResultsWith regard to patient history, age of the patient, whether diarrhea is watery or bloody and onset and duration of diarrhea were the three most commonly requested questions with 59 (98.3%), 55 (91.7%) and 46 (76.7%), respectively. Past-medical and medication history are enquired in none of the visits. Medication was dispensed in 57 (95%) of the visits and no referral to a health facility was recommended in majority (90%) of cases. The most commonly recommended medications were ciprofloxacin 30 (52.6%) and metronidazole 20 (35.1%). ORS was considered in only 6 (10.5%) dispensaries.ConclusionPatient assessment, final decisions and treatment recommendations for an adult diarrheal case are inadequate, irrational and illegal. Educational interventions coupled with incentive mechanisms for cognitive pharmaceutical service and strict regulatory enforcement are needed to reduce the problem.

Assessment of Job Satisfaction Among Pharmacy Professionals Working at Drug Stores in Mizan Aman And Tepi Town, Southwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Job satisfaction is a multidimensional, enduring, important, and much-researched concept in the field of organizational behavior and has been identified as recognition in one’s field of work, level of salary, opportunities for promotion, and achievement of personal goals. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess of job satisfaction pharmacy professional working at pharmacy retail outlets found in Mizan-Aman and Tepi towns, South West Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional method was conducted in Mizan Aman and Tepi town. All pharmacy professionals working at Mizan-Aman and Tepi town pharmacy retail outlets who fulfill the inclusion criteria were included. A structured questionnaire was developed based on the published literature regarding satisfaction of pharmacy professionals. The Statistical package for Social Science programs version 21.0 for windows was used to enter and encode the collected data. Result: A total of 35 community pharmacists were invited to participate in the study; out of them only 33(94.3%) of them were participated in the study. Eighty two percent (82%) of them were males and sixty percent (60%) were aged between 20-30. From the study participants, majority (78.8%) of community pharmacists were satisfied with their overall job. In current study 63%, 81.8% and 54.5% of the study participants replied (or satisfied) that the job has good future, the community recognizes their job good and they earn good salary for their job respectively. Likewise, 42.2%, 69.7%and 75.7% of the study respondents replied that they have high chance of professional development, feel accomplishment after finishing their carrier every day and free to use personal ability in work respectively. Conclusion and Recommendation: In general majority of the community pharmacy professionals were satisfied with their job. Ministry of Health should further improve the satisfaction of community pharmacy professionals by creating good work environment, by modifying Pharmacy professional guide line, educational chance and training, professional development as job dissatisfaction causes deleterious impact on patient care despite the magnitude of the professionals dissatisfied in the discipline. Keywords: Druggist; Drug stores; Pharmacists; Pharmacy retail outlets; Satisfaction

Career satisfaction among community, hospital, industrial, and academic pharmacy professionals

Career satisfaction among community, hospital, industrial, and academic pharmacy professionals

Protected development time pilot to take on 30 community pharmacists and technicians

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) has launched a 12-month pilot to explore the value of protected development time for community pharmacy professionals. The pilot, which will initially take on 30 community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, will look at three different models of protected development time to assess how well pharmacy professionals are supported in […]

A cross sectional study on beliefs and roles of community pharmacy professionals in preventing and managing metabolic syndrome in an Ethiopian setting.

IntroductionMetabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of cardiovascular risk factors, and its prevalence is becoming alarmingly high in Ethiopia. Studies uncovered as community pharmacy professionals (CPPs) have not yet well integrated into public health programs and priorities. In low income setting like Ethiopia, evidence regarding the roles CPPs in preventing and management of MetS is dearth.ObjectiveThe study was aimed to assess community pharmacy professionals’(CPPs) opinions about metabolic syndrome, describe their perception level towards the effectiveness of the main interventions and explore their extent of involvement in counseling patients with the metabolic syndrome in Gondar town, Northwestern Ethiopia.MethodA descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among pharmacists and druggists working in community medication retail outlets (CMROs) in Gondar town, northwestern Ethiopia from April 1 to May 31, 2019. Data were collected using a self-administered pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize different variables, and presented in tables and figure. An independent t-test and one way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) were used to compare mean scores. A 5% level of significance was used.ResultOut of the 75 CPPs approached, 65(40 pharmacists and 25 druggists) completed the survey giving a response rate of 86.7%. Smoking cessation practice was identified to be low. There were a statistically significant difference (t = 2.144, P = 0.036) in the involvement towards counseling patients between CPPs who claimed to work in pharmacy (mean = 3.96 out of 5 points Likert scale) and drug stores (mean = 3.80 out of 5 points Likert scale).ConclusionThe study concluded that the overall involvement of professionals in counseling patients, opinion about metabolic syndrome, and perception towards the effectiveness of the intervention was found to be more or less positive. However, the provision of services, such as monitoring therapy, selling equipment for home blood pressure and glucose monitoring and documenting patient care services needs to be encouraged. Given proper education and training, the current study hope that community pharmacists could be an important front-line contributors to contain this emerging epidemic in Gondar town as well as in the entire nation.

Community pharmacists’ involvement in ensuring patient safety

Abstract Burden of injuries to patients from adverse events is one of the top 10 causes of death and disability in the world; medication errors are a leading cause of injury. Most adverse events can be avoided. The objective of this work was to study involvement of community pharmacy professionals in ensuring patient safety in Armenia. Community pharmacists and technicians from all the regions of Armenia were asked to complete previously designed questionnaire. 353 professionals completed self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed with SPSS statistical software, version 22.0. 87.8% of respondents reported that they observe prescribing errors when evaluating prescription at pharmacy. 69.4% of them indicate that the main error is wrong dose; 32.3% pointed medicines interactions; 32.0% - contraindications. Number of professionals from Yerevan, who indicated wrong dose, is higher than number of those from other regions (p &amp;lt; 0.001). Only 5.1% of participants register errors at pharmacy. 83.0% of pharmacy staff reported they always or often evaluate therapeutic aspects of prescriptions. 42.2% of respondents noted that, when patient is pressing, they never dispense a medicine without being sure that it is safe for patient; 27.5% do it very rarely. 76.8% of responders are sure their services ensure safe use of medicines by patients. 26.1% of pharmacy staff reported having SOPs at their pharmacy; 80.3% are interesting in introducing this strategy. Various prescription errors are observed by community pharmacists; however they are mainly not registered (there is no such requirement). In some cases prescriptions are not evaluated at community pharmacies. Approval of new standards for pharmacy practice seems to be beneficial. Recommendations are drafted for submitting to Ministry of Health. Key messages Involvement of pharmacy professionals in ensuring patient safety have to be increased. There is need for changes in pharmacy practice regulation leading to safer use of medicines by patients.

Insights from Regulatory Data on Development Needs of Community Pharmacy Professionals.

The aim of this study was to use data available to a Canadian health professions regulator (Ontario College of Pharmacists) to identify areas of opportunity where practitioners (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) could benefit from further development, in order to optimize practice and improve the quality of care. Four de-identified datasets were used to extract themes from areas of jurisprudence (1969 exam records), member practice assessments (2610 records), pharmacy assessments (2024 records) and conduct (640 case records). Outcome measures included performance in examinations and assessments and competency gaps identified in conduct investigations. Thematic analysis of outcomes was done in two stages. First, the four outcomes were derived independently for each dataset. Second, the top five issues were extracted for each dataset. It was hypothesized that common themes in competency gaps across all four datasets would emerge from this top five selection. We found three main common areas of opportunity where practitioners could benefit from further development: patient assessment and safety; documentation; and ethical, legal and professional responsibilities.

COVID-19: What should health professionals know? Assessment of Knowledge, attitude, and practice of community pharmacists in a developing country.

Background:Healthcare professionals are the primary frontiers of the fight against every public health threat. These had made them vulnerable to various infectious agents, with many reports of morbidity and mortality also being evident.Objectives:The current study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among community pharmacists in Gondar town, Ethiopia.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection, and the collected data were coded, validated, and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Quantitative data were summarized using means and standard deviations, while frequencies and proportions were used to summarize categorical data. A chi-square test was used to assess an association between the different variables, and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance at a 95% confidence interval.Results:A total of 46 community pharmacy professionals had participated in the study. The main sources of information about COVID-19 were news media 29 (63%), followed by social media 24 (52.2%). The mean knowledge score was 8.15 (standard deviation: 1.86), and among the total study participants, 29 (63%) were found to have good knowledge about COVID-19. The mean attitude score was 31.52 (standard deviation: 4.288). Only 30.4% of the study participants were found to have a good practice toward the prevention of COVID-19. Chi-square results showed that having a good knowledge of COVID-19 was significantly associated with practice (P = 0.035).Conclusion:Significant gaps were identified concerning community pharmacy professional’s knowledge of COVID-19 and their practice toward prevention of the disease. Strategies should be implemented to equip community pharmacy professionals with all necessary information about COVID-19 through continuous training programs and other virtual platforms.

Role of community pharmacists in educating asthmatic patients: A multi-centered cross-sectional study in Ethiopia.

Background:Effective asthma management requires a multidisciplinary approach that includes; the physician, the patient, and the patient’s family.Objectives:The current study aimed to assess the roles played by community pharmacists toward asthma control together with the barriers hindering their practice and possible strategies to overcome those barriers.Methods:A multi-centered cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire adapted from previously conducted studies and customized to fit with the current study setup. The collected data was cleaned, coded, and entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 for analysis. Descriptive analysis of the collected data was conducted and the results were presented using frequency tables and graphs.Results:A total of 122 community pharmacy professionals; 63 from Gondar, 26 from Bahir Dar, 15 from Debre Markos, 14 from Woldia, and 4 from Debre birhan participated in the study. About 96 (78.7%) of the participants reported that they teach their patients the basic facts about asthma. More than two-thirds of the participants 85 (69.7%) also reported that they were able to identify and manage the triggering factors of asthma for their patients. Lack of pharmacist time was reported by 78 (63.9%) of the study participants as a major reason for the inadequacy of the counseling service provided.Conclusion:It appears evident that there is a need for continuing professional education and pharmacists to receive additional training to improve their ability to go beyond identifying a problem and suggesting therapeutic options.