Role of Community Pharmacist in Asthma Management: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice

Abstract

Purpose To investigate knowledge, attitude, and practice of asthma management counseling and the perceived barriers by community pharmacists. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 416 community pharmacists using an online-based questionnaire. The questionnaire included five parts that assessed socio-demographics and medical references used to seek drug-related information, pharmacists’ knowledge (7 items), attitudes (5 items), practice (22 items) and the barriers for the provision of asthma management counseling (10 items). Binary logistic regression was conducted to find the variables that were significantly and independently associated with knowledge, attitude and asthma management counseling practice. Results Increased years of experience was associated with decreased knowledge (OR = 0.918, 95% Cl (0.869:0.970), P = 0.002) and less positive attitude toward asthma management (OR = 0.876, 95% Cl. (0.821:0.935), P < 0.001), while working in independent community pharmacy (OR = 2.097, 95% Cl. (1.273:3.454), P = 0.004) and increased awareness of asthma management guidelines (OR = 1.60, 95% CI. (1.044:2.453), P = 0.031) increased the odds of being in the high knowledge group. In contrast, increasing the daily number of pharmacy visitors OR = 1.009, 95% Cl. (1.001:1.016), P = 0.024) and having a pharmacy degree (OR = 2.330, 95% Cl. (1.256:4.326), P = 0.007) increased the odds of having a positive attitude. Male pharmacists (OR = 0.553, 95% Cl. (0.350:0.873), P = 0.011) and having bachelor in pharmacy (OR = 0.354, 95% Cl. (0.179:0.700), P = 0.003) decreased the odds of being in the high practice group. On the other hand, increased awareness of asthma management guidelines tripled the odds of being in the high practice group (OR = 3.067, 95% Cl. (1.964:4.787), P < 0.001). Conclusion The current study findings offer valuable insights into the gaps in knowledge, attitude, and practice of asthma management counseling among community pharmacists, as well as the barriers and factors that impede the provision of these services. These insights serve as a guide for developing future strategies aimed at enhancing the role of pharmacists in asthma care.