Assessing the knowledge of asthma among community pharmacists in Edo state

Abstract

an online international journal allowing free unlimited access to abstract and full-text of published articles. The journal is devoted to the promotion of health sciences and related disciplines (including medicine, pharmacy, nursing, biotechnology, cell and molecular biology, and related engineering fields). It seeks particularly (but not exclusively) to encourage multidisciplinary research and collaboration among scientists, the industry and the healthcare professionals. It will also provide an international forum for the communication and evaluation of data, methods and findings in health sciences and related disciplines. The journal welcomes original research papers, reviews and case reports on current topics of special interest and relevance. All manuscripts will be subject to rapid peer review. Those of high quality (not previously published and not under consideration for publication) will be published without delay. The maximum length of manuscripts should normally be 10,000 words (20 single-spaced typewritten pages) for review, 6,000 words for research articles, 3,000 for technical notes, case reports, commentaries and short communications. Submission of Manuscript:The International Journal of Health Research uses a journal management software to allow authors track the changes to their submission. All manuscripts must be in MS Word and in English and should be submitted online at http://www.ijhr.org. Authors who do not want to submit online or cannot submit online should send their manuscript by e-mail attachment (in single file) to the editorial office below. Submission of a manuscript is an indication that the content has not been published or under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors may submit the names of expert reviewers or those they do not want to review their papers. Enquiries Abstract Purpose:To assess the knowledge of community pharmacists about asthma and its management. Methods: Seventy-six registered community pharmacists in Edo State completed a structured questionnaire consisting of open and close ended questions which addressed issues relating to their knowledge of asthma Results: The mean knowledge score of the pharmacists was 8.04±1.79 over a maximum possible score of 14 (range of 4 to 14) corresponding to 57.4% which was thought to be average performance. Respondents performed best in issues relating to the definition of asthma and recognizing the features of asthma symptoms while areas of knowledge deficiency included recognizing the main symptoms of asthma, factors that can cause asthmatic attacks and the proper mode of delivering asthma medications. The knowledge of the respondents was unrelated to gender, age, additional qualifications and location of their premises. Pharmacists who had received a recent training on asthma had statistically significant higher scores (p=0.04). Cconclusion: The knowledge of asthma by the community pharmacists surveyed was average. These results bring into focus the need for community pharmacists to undergo continuing professional edu...

Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceived Practice Towards Asthma Among Pharmacy Students in Southern Nigeria

“…If pharmacists have good attitudes towards a disease state, it could influence their level of involvement with rendering patient-centred services, considering that in Nigeria, many pharmaceutical care services are not paid for [9,10]. The quality of pharmaceutical care rendered in asthma will depend on the combination of the right attitudes and knowledge base of the pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of the disease [17]. As pharmaceutical care is patient-centred, pharmacists can encourage patients to be involved with self-management, consequently improving their adherence to long-term medication therapies [17].…”

“…The quality of pharmaceutical care rendered in asthma will depend on the combination of the right attitudes and knowledge base of the pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of the disease [17]. As pharmaceutical care is patient-centred, pharmacists can encourage patients to be involved with self-management, consequently improving their adherence to long-term medication therapies [17]. In a study conducted at the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy to show pharmacy students' application of their knowledge from the classroom to introductory pharmacy practice experiences, it was concluded that challenging students to think about and provide specific examples of knowledge application made the connections more explicit and also allowed students to see the relevance of the classroom portion of their education and reinforced how foundational course concepts are directly applicable to pharmacy practice [8].…”

“…A pharmacist who cannot speak the patient's language cannot efficiently communicate, and a mediator between the pharmacist and the patient may be necessary. Also, pharmacists should avoid the use of medical jargons but as much as possible strive to be understood by the patient [17]. Most of the students agreed that financial incentives have a low impact on the ability of pharmacist to provide specific asthma counselling or services since pharmacist's consultation fee is not common in this part of the world [15].…”