Knowledge, attitude, and practice of pharmacists regarding asthma management: a cross-sectional study in Egypt

Exploring the knowledge, attitude, and practice of community pharmacists regarding pediatric asthma management in Guangdong Province, China: a cross-sectional survey study

BACKGROUND

Pediatric asthma is a common respiratory disease that significantly affects children's physical and mental health. This study aims to investigate community pharmacists' self-reported knowledge of asthma and explore their attitude and practice in providing pharmaceutical services to address the needs of pediatric asthma patients.

METHODS

An online questionnaire informed by recent literature was distributed to community pharmacists in Guangdong Province, China via Qualtrics using convenience sampling and snowballing. Descriptive analysis and generalized multiple linear regression analysis were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Out of 579 community pharmacists who attempted this questionnaire, 473 completed it, giving a completion rate of 81.7%. Among the participants, 217 (45.9%) were female, and 319 (67.5%) aged between 31 and 50. The mean score of self-reported knowledge was 60.29 ± 6.16 out of 95 (range: 19-76); the mean score of attitude was 87.62 ± 8.37 out of 130 (range: 77-130); the mean score of practice was 18.72 ± 2.32 out of 30 (range: 6-24). Age, years of employment, highest education level, the average number of patients serving per day, and the average number of asthma patients serving per week were factors significantly associated with participants' self-reported knowledge, attitude, or practice toward pediatric asthma management (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Many community pharmacists felt they lacked sufficient knowledge about pediatric asthma and infrequently provided pharmaceutical services to children with asthma, despite having a positive attitude towards this professional role. To enhance the pharmaceutical care for pediatric asthma patients, it is essential to develop practice guidelines and care models, and provide education and training to community pharmacists accordingly.

Barriers to effective communication in UAE community pharmacies: general public perspectives on enhancing patient-pharmacist interaction and policy development

Background

Community pharmacies serve as accessible points of care, offering essential services such as medication dispensing, health consultations, vaccinations, and chronic disease management, thereby playing a critical role in the healthcare system. This study aims to identify and evaluate the factors that obstruct general public-pharmacist interactions, providing insights to enhance pharmacy environments.

Methods

A total of 406 general publics were surveyed using a validated questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed with categorical variables presented as frequencies and percentages, and continuous variables as medians with 95% confidence intervals. Binary regression models were used to explore the relationships between sociodemographic characteristics and communication barriers, with a significance level set at p < 0.05 for all analyses.

Results

The primary reasons for pharmacy visits were collecting prescription medications (61.58%) and purchasing OTC products (55.17%), while health screenings were less common (9.11%). Barriers to effective communication included crowded environments (61.58%), limited counseling time (45.81%), and lack of privacy (45.07%). Binary logistic regression revealed that participants who visited the pharmacy weekly were 5.5 times more likely to experience high environmental barriers (OR: 5.502, p = 0.002), while interacting with younger pharmacists increased the likelihood of personal barriers (OR: 12.357, p = 0.025). Pharmacy proximity (75.12%) and shorter waiting times (47.29%) were the most influential factors in pharmacy preference, while additional services had minimal impact (20.2%).

Conclusion

Effective communication is crucial in community pharmacies for high-quality healthcare. This study identifies key barriers in the UAE and offers insights into targeted interventions to improve communication and public satisfaction.

Primary healthcare professionals' perceptions, attitudes and ideas regarding asthma management in Greece: A mixed-method study

BACKGROUND

Implementing asthma guideline recommendations is challenging and there is variation between countries, and different healthcare professionals (HCPs). The International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) has introduced the Asthma Right Care (ARC) programme implemented in 24 low, middle, and high countries, including Greece. It offers a promising approach drawn from social movements for health to improve asthma care by engaging HCPs in implementing guideline-based asthma care.

OBJECTIVES

To explore HCPs' perspectives on current provision of asthma care and their willingness to improve implementation of recommended guidelines using ARC programme tools in Greece.

METHODS

A mixed methods study conducted from September 2020 to April 2021. A convenience sample of 30 pharmacists, and 10 General Practitioners (GPs), responded to a questionnaire investigating perceptions, and attitudes, towards implementation of asthma guidelines. Then, a qualitative survey followed with semi-structured interviews to evaluate the feedback obtained from HCPs to assess the content, and applicability of the ARC tools. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

A range of practical challenges in implementing guideline-recommended interventions, improving asthma control and management were described by all HCPs, including lack of time and education, high workload, patients' perceptions, and poor communication contributing to poor management and inadequate follow-up of people with asthma. However, most HCPs were willing to use ARC interventions to improve guideline implementation.

CONCLUSION

HCPs in Greece encounter challenges in implementing asthma guidelines; however, they can overcome these challenges by using ARC interventions and engagement tools to address barriers and implement efficient asthma management strategies.

Role of pharmacists in the care of adult asthma patients: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Asthma is a common long-term condition that affects people of all ages. Evidence suggests that a significant proportion of asthma patients in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) do not receive appropriate diagnosis, monitoring and/or treatment. When inadequately treated, asthma can negatively affect quality of life and may lead to hospitalisation and death. Although pharmacists play a role in asthma care globally, there appears to be no defined role for pharmacists in providing care to patients with asthma in the GCC countries.

AIM

This scoping review aims to review and summarise studies conducted in the GCC countries involving pharmacists in the management of adults with asthma or evaluating pharmacists' asthma care knowledge and/or skills.

METHOD

A systematic scoping review was undertaken. Seven databases were searched using relevant search terms for articles published up to May 2023. Studies that evaluated pharmacists roles, knowledge and skills in providing asthma care to adults in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain were considered eligible for inclusion. Extracted data were collated using tables and used to produce narrative descriptive summaries.

RESULTS

Out of the 1588 search results, only seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Of those, only one developed and tested a pharmacist-led inhaler technique educational intervention in the UAE within community pharmacy setting for asthma patients. The remaining six studies assessed community pharmacists knowledge in providing asthma management and patient education in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The quality of the included studies varied with four relying on simulated patients to assess pharmacists knowledge. The study that tested the intervention suggested improvement in inhaler technique and asthma symptoms control after receiving the intervention. The findings suggest a need to improve pharmacists knowledge of inhaler technique demonstration (mainly Metered Dose Inhalers), asthma management advice and assessment of asthma control and medication use.

CONCLUSION

This review highlights a lack of research on pharmacist-led asthma interventions and identifies training needs to enable pharmacists to be involved in asthma care in the GCC countries. Future research could develop approaches involving pharmacists to improve asthma care and outcomes in the region.

Knowledge and Practice of Healthcare Professionals in the Medical Care of Asthma Adult Patients in Jordan with a Particular Reference to Adherence to GINA Recommendations

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate Jordanian healthcare professionals' knowledge, skills, and experience in dealing with and treating adult asthmatic patients and assess healthcare professionals' compliance with the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guideline recommendations for asthma treatment and management in Jordan.

Patients and Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jordan between May and June 2023. This study included physicians, pharmacists, and nurses working in clinical settings and directly interacting with asthma patients in Jordan's private and governmental healthcare facilities who were eligible to participate in this research. Three primary sections of an online survey were constructed using Google Forms and included demographic data, a diagnosis and management of the illness, and a list of worldwide medical references for asthma.

Results

A total of 300 healthcare professionals, including pharmacists (103), nurses (87), Doctor of Pharmacy (28), and physicians (82), took part in this research. The survey respondents' general knowledge of the nature and symptoms of asthma is quite high, exceeding 84% and 86%, respectively. The survey also showed a high degree of awareness of asthma diagnosis. It was also revealed that around one-quarter of participants consistently reported the severity of asthma. The most frequent factor influencing the decision to take controller or maintenance medicines is symptom severity (reported from 86% of participants). The GINA guidelines were selected as the asthma information source by almost half of the participants. Finally, 47% of participants were aware of the GINA's 2019 adjustments of the recommendations.

Conclusion

This study showed that Jordanian healthcare professionals understand the nature, symptoms, and diagnoses of asthma disease. However, many of the survey participants lack adherence, awareness, and understanding of the GINA recommendations about asthma management. More research is required to assess the adherence to the evidence-based recommendations and evaluate the impact of training courses.

Evaluation of knowledge, experiences, and fear toward prescribing and dispensing corticosteroids among Egyptian healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Corticosteroids (CS) are essential drugs in the treatment of several medical conditions. Assuming different roles, physicians and pharmacists play a primary role in prescribing and dispensing these medications to optimize patients' clinical management. The data on assessing knowledge and experience of healthcare professionals toward CS is scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to assess and compare knowledge, experience, and fears towards CS among Egyptian physicians and pharmacists.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, self-administrated, validated online questionnaire was used to collect the data from Egyptian healthcare professionals. The questionnaire consisted of four sections with multiple choice questions: sociodemographic (7 questions), knowledge about CS (13 questions), experience with CS prescription/dispensing (5 questions), and fears and preferences toward CS prescription/dispensing (13 questions). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

A total of 600 responses were analyzed in this study. The study sample was almost two-half of healthcare providers: 303 (50.5%) pharmacists and 297 (49.5%) physicians. Pharmacists had marginally higher knowledge scores as compared to those recorded for physicians (11.29 versus 10.16, respectively; P = 0.047). Physicians had more experience choosing corticosteroids in treatment plans based on their experience (51.8% vs 38.5%) and guideline recommendations (72.8% vs 50.9%) than pharmacists. However, pharmacists had more experience dealing with corticosteroid use based on patients' preferences (19.5% vs 4.9%) and showed a broader scope of experiencing side effects of corticosteroids with their patients. The two professions demonstrated high levels of fear, with pharmacists acknowledging significantly lower concerns about CS than physicians (3.72 versus 4.0, respectively; P = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

Discrepancies exist among healthcare professionals in knowledge and experience, favoring better scientific knowledge of pharmacists related to corticosteroids. Based on these findings, the interprofessional collaborative efforts would provide comprehensive, patient-centered care that maximizes the benefits of CS while minimizing their risks.

Community Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Their Role in Provision of Anemia Management in Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia, and the Associated Barriers

Background: As a result of the lack of research exploring community pharmacists’ perspectives on anemia care, this study examined the perceived practices and barriers to anemia management services in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to community pharmacists to validate pharmacist perceptions of their role in anemia care. Using an 11-item role test, pharmacists were asked about their perceptions of anemia management. Pharmacy anemia management barriers were explored using 20 items, and their perceptions of inter-professional contact were examined by two items. Data analyses were performed using SPSS version 22. Results: This research involved 324 community pharmacists, 62.3% of whom were males. There were significant differences between the location of pharmacy education and the perceived practice of anemia management. The most common barriers to anemia counseling were patients’ lack of knowledge about anemia, health beliefs, patients’ perceptions that their doctor takes care of them, and time constraints. The majority of respondents said they would like to have more contact with other healthcare professionals regarding the care of anemia patients. Conclusions: A positive perception of pharmacists’ role in anemia management is prevalent among Saudi pharmacists in the Jazan region. Anemia management is challenging due to time limitations and patient-related problems.