Pharmacists’ awareness of COVID‐19 and perceptions of their roles, barriers, and roles of policymakers: Exploring the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Basheti, Iman A.; El‐Hajji, Feras Darwish; Nassar, Razan; Thiab, Samar; Barakat, Muna; Basheti, M; Berardi, Alberto; Saini, Bandana

doi:10.1111/ijcp.14074

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Our study findings reported that almost two-thirds of them had good/very good knowledge. Also, the majority closely followed the latest coronavirus updates on treatments and updated their information mostly from the WHO reports, health authorities, and social media, similar to findings reported by other pharmacists in the MENA region [ 23 , 24 ]. It is crucial that pharmacists worldwide stay updated and use a reliable source of information during a pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Knowledge and perceptions of pharmacists’ readiness during coronavirus pandemic: the case of United Arab Emirates

Basheti

Mhaidat

Al‐Azzam

et al. 2021

J of Pharm Policy and Pract

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Background With the outbreak of Coronavirus infection (COVID-19), pharmacists play an important role in supporting local health during this emergency. Aim To assess the knowledge and to identify information sources regarding COVID-19 used by pharmacists, to investigate the active and public perceived roles of pharmacists, to explore the role of the pharmacy facilities and health authorities, and to identify barriers that would hinder pharmacists from performing their duties optimally in the United Arab Emirates. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional online study was conducted in the UAE during the COVID-19 outbreak, from 18 May to 20 June 2020. A validated online questionnaire addressing participants’ current knowledge about pandemics and COVID-19, source of information, and their perspectives of their role was used. Participants were licensed pharmacists practising in community and hospital pharmacies in UAE, academics, and pharmacy students. Results Almost two-thirds of the participants (71.2%) were aged 18–30 years, with 76.2% females. Only 57.5% of participants believed that they got enough education about pandemics, and 88.3% of them followed on the latest coronavirus updates regarding treatments, and that is mainly from the World Health Organization reports (53.9%), followed by health authorities (44.8%). Two-thirds of participants (69.7%) had good/very good current knowledge regarding COVID-19. Knowledge of pharmacy students compared to pharmacists was significantly higher (p < 0.001). Conclusion The majority of pharmacists and pharmacy students reported that they have a major role in managing pandemics executed through the community pharmacies and that it is their role to ensure the availability of key medications. Policymakers and health authorities are called upon to train pharmacists in advance of emerging situations, supporting and helping them to optimally fulfill their role.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Knowledge and perceptions of pharmacists’ readiness during coronavirus pandemic: the case of United Arab Emirates

Basheti

Mhaidat

Al‐Azzam

et al. 2021

J of Pharm Policy and Pract

Self Cite

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“…Worldwide, during the pandemic, there was a greater dependence on community pharmacists as they were the first point of contact to fulfill the need of the public as they were one of the few places that stayed open during lockdowns. 35 , 36 Globally, pharmacists have been given numerous opportunities and legal extensions of their role to fight COVID-19 and decrease the health burden on the country; 36 , 37 for example, from the current study, 33.6% agreed that pharmacists had a role in providing advice on how to use some devices such as oximeter and the thermometer which were extensively used by individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, moreover 33.0% agreed that pharmacist had a role in sending medications to homes during the pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 infected patients’ experiences in Syria, and the role of the pharmacists during their infection

Nassar¹,

Thiab²,

Alkoudsi³

et al. 2022

PHARMPRACT

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Background: Patients infected with coronavirus have new experiences and hence new needs from the healthcare sector. Acknowledging patients’ experiences can exhibit promising outcomes in coronavirus management. Pharmacists are considered a vital pillar in managing patients’ experiences during their infection. Objective: To assess the experience of individuals who have been infected with coronavirus and the roles played by pharmacists to meet their new needs. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional survey was developed based on previous literature, validated, and conducted in Syria. The survey included items related to participants’ COVID-19 experiences, and items concerning the roles played by pharmacists when participants were infected. Items were tested for face validity. Data collection was conducted in May and June 2021. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: The study participants (n=576) had a mean age of 37.99 years. Fatigue was the most reported symptom by the participants. Vitamin C was the most used supplement (76.4%), and 66.5% of the participants used herbs during their infection. More than 60.0% of the participants stated that their anxiety and stress levels increased during their infection. Around 40.0% of the participants needed to visit a specialist doctor. Only 5.4% needed to use an artificial respiration apparatus. The mean of the participants’ infection severity was 4.97 (SD=2.30) out of 10. The severity of the infection was significantly affected by being older, female, smoking, and having a chronic condition. Doctors followed by pharmacists were the healthcare providers who advised participants to take certain medications/herbs. More than one-third of the participants strongly agreed/agreed that the pharmacist played important and effective roles during their infection. Conclusion: Patients’ experiences indicated that fatigue was the most reported symptom by the participants diagnosed with coronavirus infection, while vitamin C was the most used supplement. Pharmacists have a major role in helping participants manage their infection and are considered a vital pillar in patients’ experiences since they provided patients with the needed medications.

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“…37 Sources of information were versatile; most information came from the Ministry of Health and the contribution of social media was lower than that in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 38 In general, pharmacists had a positive attitude towards their role in the COVID-19 pandemic. This proactive role towards the COVID-19 pandemic was expressed by pharmacist in other studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practices, knowledge, and attitudes of community pharmacists towards dispensing drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross sectional study from Jordan

Gharaibeh¹,

Alameri²,

Sibai³

et al. 2022

PHARMPRACT

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Background: Pharmacists have an important role in providing correct information, education, and counseling to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic and other health crisis. In order to perform their duties in a correct manner, they must receive adequate and evidence-based information from official resources. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to examine the practices of community pharmacists towards dispensing drugs during the COVI-19 pandemic and assess their knowledge concerning the safety and efficacy of these drugs in managing the COVID-19 infection. Methods: This was a webbased cross-sectional study conducted through the distribution of the questionnaire via the social media through a google form. The drugs examined were azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, dexamethasone, and certain antiviral drugs. Results: A total of 485 community pharmacists responded to the questionnaire. Pharmacists dispensed these medications based on the physician's orders, 420 (86.6%), according to the pharmacist´s recommendations 327 (67.4%), or upon patient´s request 278 (57.3%). Azithromycin was the most dispensed drug and two thirds of the pharmacists dispensed drugs more than 10 times. Community pharmacists did not possess adequate knowledge concerning the effectiveness and safety of the drugs in the management of COVID-19 infection. In the multivariate linear regression analysis; education, type of university, and the average number of daily customers were statistically significant, p values: 0.004, 0.002, and 0.016, respectively. Pharmacists did not have a positive attitude towards dispensing drugs based on their own recommendations. More than half of the pharmacists agreed that they thought it was a correct decision to give these drugs based on their own judgment. Conclusion: Community pharmacists should not receive information from non-official sources. Strict regulations and implementation of disciplinary actions against pharmacists that dispense prescription only drugs based on their medical judgment are necessary to stop this illegal behavior. A proactive role demonstrated by the pharmacists and based on scientific facts will reduce misconceptions and hazardous behavior of self-medication using prescription only drugs based on rumors and fictitious news.

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Pharmacists’ awareness of COVID‐19 and perceptions of their roles, barriers, and roles of policymakers: Exploring the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Cited by 12 publications

References 38 publications

Knowledge and perceptions of pharmacists’ readiness during coronavirus pandemic: the case of United Arab Emirates

Knowledge and perceptions of pharmacists’ readiness during coronavirus pandemic: the case of United Arab Emirates

COVID-19 infected patients’ experiences in Syria, and the role of the pharmacists during their infection

Practices, knowledge, and attitudes of community pharmacists towards dispensing drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross sectional study from Jordan

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