Evaluation of the clinical pharmacist's role in educating women about the benefits and risks of combined oral contraceptive pills in Jordan

Abstract

Objective To assess the pre‐intervention knowledge of women regarding the risks and benefits associated with the use of combined oral contraceptive (COC) pills. Then, to investigate the effect of an educational intervention on the knowledge of women about the risks and benefits of COC pills. Methods The study adopted two methodologies: a structured interview technique with women selected according to inclusion criteria, and a pre‐ and postintervention to measure the effect that clinical pharmacist's intervention may have had on them. Women who attended family‐planning clinics in the north of Jordan were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions about demographics and questions to assess women's knowledge about COC pills. Then, women attended a 45‐min educational session about COC pills. One month later, the questionnaire was redistributed to the participants to assess any difference in their knowledge. Key findings Two hundred and ten women were enrolled in the study. One hundred and seventy‐seven women completed the study. At baseline, a quarter of the participants relied on other people's experiences as their main source of information with regards to COC pills. Moreover, 28.1% of women considered COC pills harmful. In addition, the results showed that the frequency of correct answers postintervention increased significantly compared to pre‐intervention (P < 0.005) including general information about COC pills and the relation between the use of COC pills and cancer. Conclusion Educational intervention introduced by clinical pharmacists improved the knowledge of women in Jordan regarding COC pills.

Unforeseen uses of oral contraceptive pills: Exploratory study in Jordanian community pharmacies

“…Also, a study in the United Arab Emirates showed that the majority of pharmacists could identify the most common side effects of OCPs, such as weight gain and mood fluctuations [ 23 ]. Moreover, many studies have focused on the pharmacists' role in counseling on the effective and safe use of OCPs, screening for contradictions, and drug-drug interactions [ 11 , 12 , 24 – 26 ]. Our findings demonstrate that the majority of the pharmacists refused to dispense OCPs in suspicious improper use cases and that they would rather provide counseling about the side effects of improper use, ask for a physician’s prescription or encourage physician’s referral, and/or report the incident to the Jordan Pharmacist Association (JPA) and the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA).…”