Emergency Preparedness for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Determinants Predicting the Community Pharmacists’ Preparedness and Perceived Response in Malaysia

Abstract

Background: Pandemic preparedness of healthcare providers helps to mitigate future threats such as spread and fatality rates, as well as the management of the disease. Pharmacists are key partners with public health agencies, and the role of community pharmacists is becoming increasingly recognised in this COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to explore the emergency preparedness of community pharmacists (CPs) for COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among community pharmacists using cluster sampling followed by convenient sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was formulated using references from the previous literature and the WHO preparedness checklist. Descriptive analysis was undertaken for the participants’ socio-demographic characteristics. All the data collected were entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 24 (SPSS V.24), (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) for analysis. Results: Most of the CPs had five or fewer years of practice experience, and they had all the mandatory information relating to the needs of their communities regarding the disease. The participants knew where to acquire these resources whenever needed. They were able to recognise the signs and symptoms of the disease. Most participants felt that they were confident to provide patient education and carry out their duties during these challenging times. There was a strong position correlation between preparedness and the perceived response of the participants. Conclusion: The community pharmacists in Malaysia are prepared enough for COVID-19 pandemic management and perceive that they can respond during any unprecedented situations, such as COVID-19. Community pharmacists were aware of the challenges that they need to face in their community regarding COVID-19.

Social Determinants Predicting the Community Pharmacists’ Workforce Preparedness for, and Response to, the Public Health Emergencies

“…37 In Malaysia, disease outbreak management training was found to have a primary influence on the community pharmacists' preparedness and perceived response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 38 In Middle East countries, pharmacists were asked to share examples of strategies implemented within their health systems in response to the COVID-19 crisis. 39 This study best predicted that community pharmacists who have undergone training on disaster outbreak management are prepared and can respond better to any public health emergencies.…”

“…37 In Malaysia, disease outbreak management training was found to have a primary influence on the community pharmacists’ preparedness and perceived response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 38 In Middle East countries, pharmacists were asked to share examples of strategies implemented within their health systems in response to the COVID-19 crisis. 39…”

“…The questionnaire was designed from literature and the WHO Resource pack, [17][18][19] which assessed the PR of the community pharmacists. The questionnaire had 3 sections with 43 items: (A) demographic information, (B) preparedness, (C) response toward infectious diseases.…”

“…The participants' PR was considered "good" or "poor" based on a 50% cutoff point. 17,20,21 Study Questionnaire Validity and Reliability For face validity, 3 experts went through the questionnaire, and their inputs on the questionnaire were incorporated. For content validity, 5 subject matter experts were measured, and the content validity ratio was 0.78.…”