Evidence of community pharmacists’ response preparedness during COVID-19 public health crisis: A cross-sectional study
| Autor: | Palli Valapila Abdulrouf, Ahmed Awaisu, Vyas S. Kattezhathu, Yaw Owusu, Sara Abdulrhim, Sowndramalingam Sankaralingam, Hager El-Geed |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Emergency Medical Services Health Knowledge Attitudes Practice medicine.medical_specialty media_common.quotation_subject education Pharmacy Pharmacists 030226 pharmacology & pharmacy Microbiology 03 medical and health sciences Emergency response preparedness 0302 clinical medicine Hygiene Surveys and Questionnaires Virology Emergency medical services medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Qatar health care economics and organizations media_common business.industry Social distance Public health Professional development COVID-19 General Medicine Community pharmacist Cross-Sectional Studies Infectious Diseases Family medicine Preparedness Scale (social sciences) Female Parasitology Public Health business Psychology |
| Zdroj: | The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries. 15:40-50 |
| ISSN: | 1972-2680 |
| DOI: | 10.3855/jidc.13847 |
| Popis: | Introduction: Community pharmacists are often the first point of contact for the public, especially during pandemics. As outlined by the International Pharmaceutical Federation, community pharmacists have an important public health role during this Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency. We therefore investigated the current practices, response preparedness and professional development needs of community pharmacists in Qatar. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional online 38-item questionnaire-based survey constructed on evidence-based public health roles of pharmacists was conducted between 28 May and 18 June 2020. Questions related to current practices required responses on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from “always” to “never”. The questionnaire was evaluated for validity and the reliability analysis showed a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.921. Results: The response (n = 311) rate for the survey was 34.2%. More than 75% of pharmacists “always” encouraged and practiced hygiene and social distancing measures. On the other hand, the proportion of pharmacists “always” involved in patient assessment, education or providing information related to COVID-19 and application of evidence-based protocol ranged from 32 to 73%. The vast majority (87-96%) of pharmacists indicated that they needed professional development related to COVID-19. Overall, 77% of pharmacists either “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that they have all the necessary COVID-19 related emergency response preparedness and training. Country from which pharmacists obtained their first degree, and the type of pharmacy where they practice influenced their overall perception toward emergency response preparedness. Conclusions: Community pharmacists in Qatar are willing to receive additional training related to COVID-19 public health crisis despite being prepared to engage with patients. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|