Background: Self-medication with over-the-counter (OTC) medications is common among medicine and health science students. For safe use of OTC medications, students are expected to have proper knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards OTC medications and subsequent adverse drug reactions (ADRs).
Background: Healthcare professionals are the primary frontiers of the fight against every public health threat. These had made them vulnerable to various infectious agents, with many reports of morbidity and mortality also being evident. Objectives: The current study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among community pharmacists in Gondar town, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection, and the collected data were coded, validated, and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Quantitative data were summarized using means and standard deviations, while frequencies and proportions were used to summarize categorical data. A chi-square test was used to assess an association between the different variables, and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance at a 95% confidence interval. Results: A total of 46 community pharmacy professionals had participated in the study. The main sources of information about COVID-19 were news media 29 (63%), followed by social media 24 (52.2%). The mean knowledge score was 8.15 (standard deviation: 1.86), and among the total study participants, 29 (63%) were found to have good knowledge about COVID-19. The mean attitude score was 31.52 (standard deviation: 4.288). Only 30.4% of the study participants were found to have a good practice toward the prevention of COVID-19. Chi-square results showed that having a good knowledge of COVID-19 was significantly associated with practice (P = 0.035). Conclusion: Significant gaps were identified concerning community pharmacy professional’s knowledge of COVID-19 and their practice toward prevention of the disease. Strategies should be implemented to equip community pharmacy professionals with all necessary information about COVID-19 through continuous training programs and other virtual platforms.
Objectives The current study aimed at assessing the impact of COVID-19 on pharmaceutical care services and the role of community pharmacists. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 1st to June 7, 2020, on community pharmacies in Bahir Dar and Gondar cities, Ethiopia. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were conducted. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance at a 95% Confidence interval (CI). Results A total of 101 community pharmacies were approached (one pharmacist per pharmacy), and 80 of them had completed the survey. From the total pharmacies, 78.8% of them had encountered a shortage of pharmaceutical products. Chi-square test revealed that there was a significant difference ( P = 0.036) in the shortage of personal protection equipment between Gondar and Bahir Dar cities. Face mask 55 (77.4%) followed by hand glove 15 (21.1%) were the most commonly reported personal protective equipment’s in short supply. Conclusion Strategies should be in place to improve the availability and affordability of various essential pharmaceuticals to mitigate the spread of the disease and prevent other complications.
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