Knowledge of Pharmacists about Nuclear Pharmacy Services in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Goal: The knowledge of nuclear pharmacy is essential in pharmacy practice. In addition, the nuclear pharmacy services demand various diagnoses and drug therapy management. In this study, we aimed to explore pharmacists' knowledge about nuclear pharmacy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a crosssectional qualitative study. In this study, we distributed an electronic validated reliability questionnaire to all pharmacists and pharmacy interns. Students were excluded from this study. The survey collected demographic data of the responders and the knowledge of pharmacists about nuclear pharmacy, radioactive drugs, and resources of nuclear pharmacy. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS), Microsoft Excel, and Survey Monkey system. Results: A total of 235 pharmacists responded to the survey questionnaire. Of them, 142 (63.96%) were male, and 80 (36.04%) were female, with a statistically significant difference between them (p<0.001). About two-thirds of the pharmacists had earned a Bachelor's degree (149 (63.40%)) and Diploma in Pharmacy (75 (31.91%)), with statistically significant differences among all qualifications (p<0.001). The average score for pharmacists' knowledge of nuclear pharmacy services was 1.61, with high scores obtained for the elements-knowledge of the nuclear pharmacist has additional salary in Saudi Arabia (1.76) and radiation safety considerations (1.73). The average score was obtained for knowledge of radiopharmaceutical products (1.63), and the highest score on knowledge was obtained for 131 I-Sodium Iodide capsule five mCi (for thyroid therapy) (1.8) and 201 Tl-Thallium solution five mCi (for cardiac imaging) (1.8). The resources used to access information about nuclear pharmacy services were drug information resources (93 (40.09%)), scientific literature (83 (35.78%)), and the internet (83 (34.48%)). Conclusion: The pharmacist's knowledge of nuclear pharmacy services and radiopharmaceutical products was poor. Therefore, to expand nuclear medicine, including pharmacy-related nuclear services, we recommend implementing the education and training program on nuclear pharmacy in Saudi Arabia.

Knowledge and perception of pharmacists and patients on the use of radiopharmaceuticals in disease management

“…These findings are slightly different from the report of other studies. According to the survey by Alomi et al (2021a), Saudi Arabia pharmacists had poor knowledge of nuclear pharmacy practice. In a study conducted in Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE and Nepal by Parasuraman et al (2014a), about 30% of health professionals were aware of the use of radiopharmaceuticals in the health sector.…”

“…The background training of the pharmacists and their cadre might have also contributed to the differences noted. In Saudi Arabia, many of the healthcare organisations have nuclear medicine headed by the consultant physician working in collaboration with nurses, pharmacists, and technicians ( Barnett & Kavula, 1992;Paez et al, 2016;Alomi et al, 2021a;Alomi et al, 2021b). Hospital pharmacists might have been slow in adding nuclear pharmacists to their staff and might have transferred such professional obligation to non-pharmacist personnel in the nuclear medicine domain.…”

“…The questionnaire was developed after a detailed review of the literature (Alomi et al, 2021a;Brasil et al, 2012;Busey et al, 2013;Debnath & Babu, 2015;Laven & Martin, 1989;Mayur et al, 2016;Parasuraman et al, 2014b;Ramil, 2022). The structured self-administered online questionnaire for pharmacists consisted of three sections: a section on socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, a section containing 17-item Likert scale with 7-graded responses (1 -Strongly disagreed to 7 -Strongly agree) which assessed the knowledge of pharmacists on radiopharmaceuticals, the third section contained 11item Likert scale with 7-graded responses (1 -Untrue of what I believe to 7 -True of what I believe) on perception of the pharmacists on the health benefits and risks of radiopharmaceuticals in disease management and nuclear pharmacy practice.…”

“…Research in radiopharmacy and the use of radiopharmaceuticals is scanty, but previous publications have emphasised patients' lack of knowledge regarding radiation (Alomi et al, 2021a;Busey et al, 2013). This has been attributed to the fact that many healthcare providers have little knowledge about radiation and, thus, are poorly equipped educators (Busey et al, 2013).…”

Research Policy on Cross-Sectional Studies in Pharmacy Practice

“…[5][6][7][8] Additional research examined specific knowledge or perceptions regarding pharmaceutical care. [9][10][11][12][13] Numerous guidelines discussed the cross-sectional model in research practice and the model's advantages and disadvantages. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] However, the policies and procedures for cross-sectional research are not well documented or are only found infrequently in the literature search database.…”