Public perceptions about pharmacists’ role in prescribing, providing education and delivering medications during COVID‐19 pandemic era

Abstract

COVID‐19 is a pandemic disease with a significant threat to public health. Public knowledge and perception significance in tackling pandemics have been evidenced in the previous research. This study aimed to explore public perceptions about pharmacists’ educational and prescribing role, and the medication delivery service provided during COVID‐19 outbreak. A cross‐sectional study was conducted among the general population of Jordan using a convenient sampling technique for 10 days (15‐25 May 2020). Data were collected from 578 participants who agreed to fill the questionnaire, which was distributed online. The questionnaire items were piloted using face validity and reliability. Participants showed a positive perception about the impact of pharmacists and pharmacy services provided during COVID‐19 outbreak. More than half of the participants (61.1%) believed that pharmacists could prescribe over‐the‐counter medications, and only 15.7% believed that pharmacists could prescribe both over‐the‐counter and prescribed medications. Linear regression was performed to assess the factors that affect the participants’ perception of pharmacists’ prescribing and educational role and delivering medication during COVID‐19. Females have lower perception scores towards medication delivery services compared with males ( P value = .008). However, male participants, those aged less than 50 years, those with postgraduate degrees and those from non‐medical profession showed a significantly higher perception score towards the impact of pharmacists and pharmacy services provided during COVID‐19 outbreak compared with others ( P value < .05 for all). This study indicates that the public positively endorsed the impact of the educational role of the pharmacist, medication delivery services and extending pharmacists’ prescribing authority during COVID‐19 pandemic. Also, findings from this study provide a platform to examine the perception of the public towards pandemic diseases and inform policy decision‐makers to react by updating their regulation to allow extending pharmacy services and prescribing role during COVID‐19 pandemic.

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

“…Nowadays, the world is facing a predatory pandemic infection caused by the COVID‐19 requiring a concerted effort by healthcare professionals and public health experts to contain the rate of infection and the havoc it wreaks. Pharmacists, as essential health service providers, are important in the management and control of COVID‐19 16,26,27 . Hearteningly, the results of this survey indicated that pharmacists in the Arab‐speaking countries in the MENA region have a good awareness about the COVID‐19 and acknowledge the different roles they can play during these times.…”

“…Community pharmacists (or retail pharmacists as they are known in some countries) have a crucial role to play during pandemics 11,12 . One of the most important roles of community pharmacists is to ensure the availability of effective therapy, in addition to health education and health promotion activities and vaccination provision 13‐16 . Moreover, community pharmacists need to engage with patients, providing them with counselling regarding the safety precautions to minimise exposure and infection probabilities as well as psychological and mental health support during a pandemic.…”

Public’s Experiences and Expectations of Pharmacists during Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Saudi Arabia

“…The majority of responders were female because of same author's gender. The majority of responders were had a bachelor's degree look like the earlier study [22] with low income that's expected because they were the student and young age regulation and reflect the pharmacist as sources of drug information resemble earlier study. [22] The patient analysis through community pharmacy is well known of the prior literature and might upsurge during COVID 19 due to the demand of receive counselling with new pandemic situations.…”

“…Of those, 440 (95.44%) were Saudi, and 344 (74.62%) were female, with statistical consequence between nationality or gender answers (p<0.001). Most of the responders were in age (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24) years 174 (39.19%) with statistically significant between all ages level (p<0.001). Almost twothirds of the responders had bachelor's degree 319 (69.20%) with statistically significant between among all academic qualifications (p<0.001).…”

“…[15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Another study talked the perception of pharmacists or drug distribution systems during COVID-19. [22] The authors tried to combine two kinds of tasks by counting patient experience and expectations of the pharmacist and performance during COVID-19: the author is not acquainted with any search about the current topic locally or in Gulf and Middle Eastern countries. The present study purposes to announce the patient experience and expectations of pharmacists during COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.…”