Attitudes and practices of community pharmacists and barriers to their participation in public health activities in Yemen: mind the gap.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101088677 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1472-6963 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14726963 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Health Serv Res
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-
    • Subject Terms:
      Attitude of Health Personnel* ; Public Health*; Community Pharmacy Services/*statistics & numerical data ; Pharmacists/*psychology ; Pharmacists/*statistics & numerical data; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Yemen
    • Abstract:
      Background: Patients in Yemen commonly visit community pharmacies to obtain consultation or treatment for common ailments. Community pharmacists have an opportunity to optimize medication use and improve patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes and practices of community pharmacists regarding their participation in public health activities and barriers to their participation in these activities.
      Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among community pharmacists working in pharmacies located in urban areas of the Aden governorate of Yemen from March to June 2017 using a self-administered questionnaire. We selected pharmacies from a line list using proportional sampling according to the number of pharmacies in the urban areas of each district. The questionnaire contained four sections: demographic characteristics, attitudes, practices, and barriers encountered. Data were analyzed descriptively, and the Chi-square test was used for analyzing the association of variables (alpha = 0.05).
      Results: The questionnaire was distributed to 200 community pharmacists working in community pharmacies. Of the 200 respondents, 62% (n = 124) were male. Overall, the mean age (sd) was 30.0 years (8.6) with the number of years of work experience between 2 and 9.9 years (n = 158, 79%). On average, 62.3% of the pharmacists had a positive attitude toward participation in public health activities. Providing education to stop tobacco chewing, smoking, alcohol drinking and improve oral hygiene was an important activity of the community pharmacists. Blood pressure measurements (86%, n = 172) and glucose tests (45%, n = 90) were commonly conducted for clients. Lack of time (71%, n = 142) and lack of teamwork (70%, n = 140) were mentioned as common barriers to participation in public health activities.
      Conclusions: Community pharmacists had a positive attitude toward public health activities. Health education and routine health tests were important practices of the community pharmacists. Barriers need to be overcome to enable more active participation by community pharmacists in public health activities by consulting with all stakeholders, assessing the situation, considering alternatives and taking action.
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    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Cognitive services; Community pharmacies; Extended services; Health education; Health outcomes; Public health; Yemen
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20190516 Date Completed: 20190730 Latest Revision: 20200225
    • Publication Date:
      20240104
    • Accession Number:
      PMC6515656
    • Accession Number:
      10.1186/s12913-019-4133-y
    • Accession Number:
      31088459