Factors impeding the supply of over-the-counter medications according to evidence-based practice: A mixed-methods study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Despite the positive attitudes pharmacists have toward evidence-based practices (EBPs), its application in community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to explore and assess EBPs by community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia when they dispense over-the-counter (OTC) medications for three minor ailments: diarrhea, cough, and the common cold.

Research design and methods

We used a mixed-methods approach consisting of two study parts. The first was a quantitative investigation that used mystery shoppers. Four researchers, posing as mystery shoppers, visited 214 randomly selected pharmacies in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia. They used 14 questions from a standardized checklist to examine EBPs by community pharmacists. The qualitative part o

SUBMITTER: Aloudah N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7676695 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature