Pharmacists self-perceived role competence in prevention and containment of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction The increased need for prioritized infection prevention and control (IPC) activities for the prevention and containment of COVID-19 is pivotal and timely in preventing harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about pharmacists' infection IPC activities and their role competence during disease outbreaks. This study aimed to assess pharmacists' perceived role competence to perform frontline roles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted using online social media to recruit eligible participants. A validated questionnaire contained 41 items on sociodemographic characteristics, preventative behaviors, and competencies. Results A total of 486 participants completed the survey. Participants reported several IPC activities that could potentially prevent COVID-19 spread. The majority expressed high attitudes towards their capabilities to fulfill their healthcare roles (M = 4.43, SD = 0.46, out of 5). The vast majority of participants (97.1%) were willing to demonstrate the effective way of cleaning hands and using facemasks. Pharmacists (89.1%) showed their willingness to timely refer patients in response to their emerging needs. Gender, age groups, years of experience, monthly incomes, area of work, ability to make a referral, source of information, and self-isolation discontinuation criteria were significantly associated with pharmacists’ self-perceived role competence. Conclusion Pharmacists are well-positioned as access points to care and can potentially play a significant role in the containment of the COVID-19 outbreak by delivering advanced clinical and public health services. Future research efforts need to be comprehensively directed towards the advanced role of pharmacists in implementing point-of-care testing for infectious diseases.

Mass media utilization to promote public behavior change during COVID-19 situation: A population survey of Dhaka city

“…For that reason, they chose social media, network news that appeared on TV sets, and online news media to collect the information concerned to COVID-19. Muflih et al (2021) found that 58.2% of their respondents used social media, and 25.3% used local and international channels for COVID-19 information. Their participants used these sources daily to weekly.…”

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

“…The survey tool was developed based on the current literature on the role of CPs in responding to disasters and pandemics 14,15,[19][20][21][22] and Korean context. 12,23 For example, the questions in the response phase were developed considering Korean policy.…”

“…The first section comprised (1) questions regarding the characteristics of CPs, including sex, age, work type (eg, pharmacy owner or pharmacy employee), pharmacy work experience, and working hours per day; (2) questions on whether the CP participates in outreach pharmaceutical services (eg, pharmacist home visit, drug safety use education, and safe pharmacy program) and frequently provides consultation and relevant information on the efficacy and side effects of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines; (3) questions about COVID-19 information resources (eg, government, KPA, academic journals or professional books, online newspapers, and Social Networking Service [SNS]) and the frequency of using these resources; and (4) questions regarding pharmacy characteristics, including pharmacy location, the total number of pharmacists working for the pharmacy, the total number of daily prescriptions dispensed at the pharmacy, and the total sales of OTC drugs per day. [20][21][22] The second section of the survey comprised questions regarding the importance and performance of the roles that the CPs recognized during the pandemic. The role of the CPs in the PPRR phases, reported in the study by Cadogan and Hughes, 14 were determined during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the specific roles were modified based on the situation in Korea.…”