Assessing knowledge, attitude, practice, and preparedness of hospital pharmacists in Lebanon towards COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.
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ABSTRACT: Background
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lebanese government has taken the proactive anticipatory measure to minimize the infection rates. Despite the pivotal role of the pharmacists working in hospital settings, hospital pharmacists have not been engaged in the emergency preparedness for hospitals. The primary objective of this survey is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of hospital pharmacists in Lebanon towards COVID-19 pandemic and explore the level of health emergency preparedness of Lebanese hospitals in response to this outbreak.Methods
A standardized English-based, anonymous and online questionnaire was diffused via social media platforms to all Lebanese hospital pharmacists. The questionnaire consisted of 78 questions related to sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge-based, attitude-based, practice questions, and pandemic preparedness. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to summarize data.Results
A total of 81 questionnaires were completed; the participants were able to know > 90% of the knowledge-based questions regarding COVID-19. Most of the respondents were concerned about getting infected and their families due to their professional exposure. Similarly, around 67% were following the safety recommendations. Most of the participants agreed that they are facing shortages, rising prices, and delays in supply of masks and sanitizers. In terms of COVID-19 readiness, about 50% of hospitals have taken practical steps.Conclusions
Our findings revealed an appropriate level of knowledge and good practice towards COVID-19, among the respondents from Lebanese hospitals. National organizations may benefit in utilizing the expertise of the hospital pharmacists to be able to minimize/avoid future waves of COVID-19 if it emerges.
SUBMITTER: Zeenny RM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7498300 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundCoronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is currently a global health threat and public health emergency of international concern. Africa is the last continent to be hit by this pandemic and the population is still prone to misconceptions and may not take it seriously. In developing countries including Ethiopia, where trained human resources and equipment for the treatment of COVID-19 are scarce, working on prevention of the viral spread should be a priority as a feasible intervention strategy. The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) towards COVID-19 and its prevalence among hospital visitors.MethodsHealth institution based cross sectional study was conducted among 513 hospital visitors who are recruited by using simple random sampling technique at Ataye district hospital, Northeast Ethiopia from June 3, 2020 to August 10, 2020. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to obtain information related to socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge (11 questions), attitude (9 questions) and practice (9 questions). Oro-pharyngeal specimen was collected by trained healthcare provider and processed in a molecular laboratory. After extraction of viral nucleic acid, the Real-time fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kit was used for detecting novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Data was analyzed using bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression model with 95% CI (confidence interval). From the bi-variable analysis, variables having a P-value <0.25 were retained into multivariable analysis. From the multivariable analysis, variables with a P-value <0.05 was declared as associated factors.ResultsMajority (72.9%) of the study participants were male; and most were urban dwellers. From the total study participants, 17 (3.3%) were found to be infected with the virus. The magnitude of low-level of knowledge was 4.9%; and of the analyzed risk factors, female gender, age (category less than 16 years and category between 16 and 65 years), and usual alcohol drinking habit had statistically significant association with low level knowledge. The proportion of study participants who had low level of practice was 75/513 (14.62%). Family size, age category between 16 and 65 years, and low-level knowledge were associated with low-level practice.ConclusionLimited number of study participants had high-level knowledge and practice towards COVID-19; while majority of the study candidates demonstrated moderate level of knowledge and practice. Good knowledge, positive attitude and good practice can be a guarantee for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Hence, various measurements to combat the pandemic should be taken by different stakeholders including the community members, religious leader, health professionals and others.
| S-EPMC7895377 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundProper disaster preparedness by community pharmacists has the potential to counter many of the factors that cause threats and high-risk outcomes. Their preparedness and awareness may also help health practitioners and governments to improve disaster response planning.ObjectivesThis aims to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards disaster medicine preparedness and readiness among community pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted over the ten months among licensed community pharmacists who had three months' professional experience or more. Face-to-face interviews were carried out and a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Logistic regression models were used to determine the factors influencing aboucine preparedness and readiness. SPSS Version 24 was used to analyze the data collected.ResultsA total of 500 community pharmacists participated in the study. The average knowledge score was 25.6% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [21.7%, 29.4%]. Better knowledge scores were observed in the male gender (OR 2.43; 95% CI 1.05-3.72), participants aged ≥ 31 years old (OR 2.97; 95% CI 1.16-7.6), postgraduates (OR 4.36; 95% CI 2.6-7.3), participants from independent Pharmacies (OR 6.5; 95% CI 4.04-10.4 3), chief pharmacists (OR 3.1; 95% CI 1.86-5.07), participants with 16 years and more experience years (OR 2.42; 95% CI 1.063-5.522) and participants who graduated from regional/international universities (OR 5.92; 95% CI 2.65-13.2). Better attitude and practice about disaster medicine preparedness were observed in postgraduates (OR 2.54; 95% CI 1.26-pharmacists from independent pharmacies (OR 1.35; 95% CI 2.43-2,.66), and chief pharmacists (OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.17-1.35).ConclusionsIt's essential to provide a continuing education program using different educational strategies urgently needed to improve community pharmacy competencies (e.g. knowledge attitudes, and perceptions) to improve the skills and practices regarding disaster medicine preparedness and readiness.
| S-EPMC9409571 | biostudies-literature
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| S-EPMC6488811 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundLebanon, a developing Middle Eastern country, was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred amid a severe national economic crisis. Community pharmacists are responsible for dispensing appropriate medications and products in addition to counseling, informing and educating the public, and promoting disease prevention and infection control.ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess community pharmacists' knowledge, attitude, and practice towards the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate behavior changes and safety measures.MethodsAn anonymous and standardized online questionnaire in English was disseminated via social media platforms to Lebanese community pharmacists. The questionnaire consisted of 95 items designed as Likert-scales and multiple-choice questions divided into four different sections: socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge-based, attitude-based, and pharmacy practice questions. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to summarize the demographic characteristics, and indices were created for knowledge, attitude, and practice by computing the correct answers for each section.ResultsA total of 310 questionnaires were completed. Around 61% have expressed their fear of getting infected with COVID-19 due to occupational exposure. The respondents were able to answer 80-90% of the knowledge-based questions of the survey. A more careful/anxious attitude, but not knowledge, was associated with overall better practice (p = 0.03). Also, respondents stated that they are dispensing protective equipment items such as masks (87%), gloves (60%), and sanitizers (77%) in small quantities due to limited availability.ConclusionOur findings revealed an adequate level of knowledge and good practice towards COVID-19 among Lebanese community pharmacists. Their fears of contracting the virus and compromising the safety of those around them are justified. However, their supply of protective equipment is limited.
| S-EPMC8193173 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Inclusion of a pharmacist showed that pharmacy-led patient education can positively impact treatment outcome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) knowledge, medication adherence, quality of life, significant reduction in hospital admission rates, and emergency department visits. The objectives were to assess the degree of COPD knowledge in Lebanese community pharmacists as well as their attitudes and practice toward disease management. Between January and May 2018, a cross-sectional survey enrolled 709 Lebanese community pharmacists. A committee was created to build up the questionnaire; it was composed of two physicians (one infectious disease specialist and one pulmonologist) and eight pharmacists, with long expertise in community and hospital pharmacy. It comprised 12 questions assessing knowledge, 12 questions for attitude, and 13 questions for practice. Higher attitude (? = 0.56) and higher practice (? = 0.41) were associated with higher knowledge score. Higher knowledge (? = 0.10) and practice (? = 0.16) scores as well as female gender (? = 0.60) were significantly associated with higher attitude scores. Higher knowledge (? = 0.13) and higher attitude (? = 0.19) showed significant association with higher practice scores. Female gender (? = -0.94), however, was significantly associated with decreased practice score. Our study highlights the importance of assessing the capabilities of pharmacists of achieving their support role in COPD patients. In order to improve community pharmacists' knowledge of COPD, ultimately improving patient outcomes, further education is crucial.
| S-EPMC7310810 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPharmacovigilance (PV) demarcates all actions involving the detection and prevention of adverse drug reactions (ADR) for marketed drugs. However, ADRs are considerably underreported worldwide and continue to be a major concern to health care systems. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and perception of hospital pharmacists regarding medication safety concerning PV and ADRs across multiple tertiary care centers around Saudi Arabia.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2019 and January 2020. Pharmacists working in the tertiary care centers of Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia were asked to participate in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to conduct this study, it consisted of: 63 questions out of which 19 questions were knowledge-based, 15 were attitude-based, and 29 were practice-based questions.ResultsA total of 350 pharmacists were distributed and 289 agreed to participate, giving a response rate of 82.6%. Most pharmacists were aware of the concept of VP and its functions (96.5%) and (87.2%), respectively. Moreover, 90% said that ADR can be preventable and non-preventable. However, the findings revealed inadequate knowledge about the overall PV field, where the majority of the pharmacists failed to correctly answer questions related to independent ADRs treatment, Augmented drug reaction, the international location of ADR, and the World Health Organization "online database" for reporting ADRs. Moreover, incomplete and/or wrong answers were recorded for questions that included single or multiple correct answers. Regarding the participants" attitude, 96.9% were interested in ADR reporting, agreeing that ADR is important to enable safe drug usage. Although a general positive attitude was recorded, pharmacists have stated that the three main barriers that hinder reporting ADRs are: unavailability of information about ADRs, lack of awareness about the need to report ADRs, and lack of time. Concerning practice, 69.2% said they received training in ADRs reporting, and 70% have reported ADRs more than once a week.ConclusionSurveyed pharmacists from Riyadh hospitals showed narrow knowledge of the PV field. However, a positive attitude and satisfactory practice was observed among pharmacists. These findings warrant the need for educational programs and an encouraging environment for ADR reporting to increase ADR reporting rates and support PV activities in Saudi Arabia.
| S-EPMC8274029 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundDespite significant improvement in prevention and control over the past decades malaria remains a significant public health concern in Tanzania with 93% of the population being at risk. To prevent malaria infection and promote malaria free zones, understanding the community's knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward malaria control are essential. This study therefore aimed at determining the levels of understanding, and attitudes, as well as socio-cultural aspects of malaria prevention and treatment-seeking behaviours among suspected malaria patients.MethodsThis study was a hospital based cross-sectional study, in which patients attending Tumbi Referral Hospital with symptoms and signs that warrant inclusion of suspicion of malaria, were recruited. We used a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire to collect participants' demographic characteristics, as well as information on their knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards malaria infection. Data were analysed using Stata Version 12.1.ResultsWe enrolled a total of 295 respondents of which 179 (60.68%) were females. Participants' ages ranged from 1-91 years, with a mean of 31.4 years. Seventy-nine (26.8%) patients reported having malaria in the previous 28 days, with 57 (72.2%) being laboratory confirmed. Only 52 (65.8%) individuals reported taking prescribed medications for malaria. A total of 277 (93.90%) were aware of malaria, and 264 (95.31%) knew that it is transmitted by mosquito. Nearly all participants (263, 94.95%), identified sleeping under bed nets to be protective against malaria. About half of the respondents either agreed 63 (22.74%) or strongly agreed 62 (22.38%) that malaria can be transmitted like the common cold. Self-reported mosquito net use was 88.09% (244).ConclusionDespite the endemicity of malaria in our study site, patients had adequate knowledge, encouraging attitudes, and good practices related to malaria prevention and control.
| S-EPMC6681959 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Community pharmacists are well positioned to identify patients with poorly controlled asthma and trained to optimize asthma therapy. Yet, over 90% of patients with asthma live with uncontrolled disease. We sought to understand the current state of asthma management in practice in Alberta and explore the potential use of the Chat, Check and Chart (CCC) model to enhance pharmacists' care for patients with asthma.An 18-question survey was used to examine pharmacists' monitoring of asthma control and prior use of the CCC tools. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the response rate, sample demographics, asthma management and CCC use. Survey validity and reliability were established.One hundred randomly selected pharmacists completed the online survey with a 40% (100/250) response rate. A third of responding pharmacists reported talking to most patients about asthma symptoms and medication, with a greater focus on talking with patients on new prescriptions over those with ongoing therapies. Fewer than 1 in 10 pharmacists routinely talked to most patients about asthma action plans (AAPs). The majority of pharmacists (76%) were familiar with the CCC model, and 83% of those reported that the CCC model influenced their practice anywhere from somewhat (45%) to a great deal (38%). Both scales had good reliability, and factor analysis provided support for scale validity.There was considerable variability in pharmacists' activities in monitoring asthma. Pharmacists rarely used AAPs. The CCC model had a high level of self-reported familiarity, use and influence among pharmacists.
| S-EPMC5755817 | biostudies-other
Project description:IntroductionCommunity pharmacy is a rapidly changing sector in Saudi Arabia. Customers visit local community pharmacies for a variety of reasons including disease-related advice, buying OTC medication, cosmetic products and re-filling a prescription for a chronic illness. The current study was conducted to fill the gap in the literature regarding community pharmacists' knowledge, attitude and practice toward non-pharmaceutical products.MethodsThe study used a cross-sectional design. A total of 211 community pharmacists working in the Asir region, Saudi Arabia were included. The questionnaire was adopted from a previous study with the same purpose.ResultsProducts sold in community pharmacies were mainly pharmaceutical products (69.7%) compared to 30.3% non-pharmaceutical products. The most commonly sold non-pharmaceutical products were mother and baby products (26%) and skin care products (19%). Pharmacists showed good mean knowledge (3.96 out of 5), mean positive attitude (3.79 out of 5) and mean positive practice (3.32 out of 5).ConclusionCommunity pharmacists showed considerable knowledge pertaining to non-pharmaceutical products. Respondents demonstrated positive attitudes toward the non-pharmaceutical products and were interested in expanding their knowledge on the topic through continuing education. Additionally, they showed social accountability by assuming responsibility for providing patient counseling on non-pharmaceutical products.
| S-EPMC9099022 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The recent outbreak of viral zoonotic disease-monkeypox-caused by the monkeypox virus, has infected many people worldwide. This study aims to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) concerning monkeypox among university students in Bangladesh. Data were collected using purposive snowball sampling from 887 university students through an online survey using Google Form. The participants were mostly in their twenties (M = 22.33 [SD 2.01] years), and they spent, on average, 2.59 [SD 1.91] hours/day on electronic and social media. The participants generally showed moderate knowledge (39.5%), low attitude (25.1%), and moderate practice (48.6%) toward monkeypox, with 47.6% having had a moderate KAP score. Findings further showed that personal attributes of university students, i.e., age, sex, year of schooling, residence, living status, geographical distribution, e.g., division, were statistically and significantly associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding monkeypox and overall KAP score. It is also apparent that health status, susceptibility to monkeypox, and exposure to social media were the most common factors significantly associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding monkeypox and overall KAP score. The current study's findings underscore the need for developing appropriate information, education, and communication (IEC) materials and their dissemination, which could play an important role in reducing the risk of monkeypox and similar other infectious diseases, particularly among students in Bangladesh.
| S-EPMC10569525 | biostudies-literature