Community pharmacy practice related to the COVID-19 pandemic: barriers and facilitators

Abstract

Background Community pharmacies provide an important healthcare service. Their significant value has been further highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Objectives To identify and categorize potential barriers and facilitators to the role of community pharmacists during the pandemic and their association with demographic factors. Methods A cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire during April 2020 across all regions of Egypt. Key findings Respondents (n = 1018; 98.4% response rate) revealed practical and psychological barriers, including inadequate levels of pandemic preparedness (mean 61.43%; ±SD 0.47), inadequate working environments (mean 56.23%; ±SD 0.49) and uncooperative behaviour from stakeholders (mean 65.3%; ±SD 0.47).The majority of respondents emphasized the universal, region-independent necessity for facilitators, including the availability of timely (94.9%) guidance (97.4%) published by the Egyptian healthcare authority (94.6%), in electronic format (82.1%), through smartphone application (80.0%) and the provision of a dedicated telephone hotline (89.5%). Furthermore, authorities must use the media to manage public perceptions (97.2%) and increase public trust (94.8%) towards the pharmacist. Conclusions The barriers and facilitators identified herein could improve service provision in an integrated manner by overcoming the reported inadequate level of preparedness (barrier) through the provision of electronic guidance (facilitator), and the use of the media in managing public perceptions and trust (facilitators) to reduce the panic that negatively affects the working environment (barrier) for pharmacy staff. The varied level of healthcare authority cooperation reported in many regions requires further investigation.

Residents’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Toward Covid-19 During the New Period in Phong Dien District, Can Tho City

“…People's attitude toward COVID-19 prevention is excellent; up to 89.9% of subjects have a positive attitude. Our results are similar to the study of author Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Khue, with a positive general attitude accounting for 90.6% [23], and China with 92.9% [13], [19], but higher than Thailand, 60% of participants had more positive attitude [17]. Although general knowledge is not high, Vietnamese people have an excellent attitude toward accepting COVID-19 prevention methods.…”

Comparison of Perceived Importance and Performance of Community Pharmacists’ Role in South Korea During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

“…The third section of the survey focused on the factors limiting the performance of CPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The factors were selected based on previous literature reviews 24,25 and the opinions of academic experts in pharmacy practice and education. The selected factors included time, economic compensation, sense of duty and awareness, government policy, consumer demands for CP services, doctors' willingness to cooperate with pharmacists, availability of communication channels, and legal limitations of CPs' responsibilities.…”

Implementation of pharmaceutical preparation management during the covid-19 pandemic: literature review

“…The majority of respondents emphasized the need for universal and independent facilitators in the region, including the availability of timely guidelines (94.9%) (97.4%) issued by the Egyptian health authorities (94.6%), in electronic format (82.1 %), through smartphone applications (80.0%) and provision of special telephone hotlines (89.5%). Furthermore, authorities must use the media to manage public perception (97.2%) and increase public trust (94.8%) in pharmacists (Bahlol et al, 2022). During the pandemic, Australian pharmacists have worked closely with multidisciplinary teams on the front lines to manage a fair and safe supply of medicines despite this unprecedented situation (Parajuli et al, 2022).…”