Pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and practice in the UAE toward the public health crisis of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study
Main Article Content
Keywords
Pharmacists, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, UAE, COVID-19, Cross-sectional
Abstract
Objectives: Internationally, pharmacists have shown a pivotal role in alleviating the unprecedented spread of the COVID-19 as they are the first touchpoint to patients. The aim of this study to evaluate the UAE pharmacists’ knowledge about and practice in the global COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted during a period from August 2020 to January 2021. A well-designed standardized English-based questionnaire was developed based on current literature and employed for this study. Findings: The results showed that 45.7% of the participated pharmacists expected to have a good level of knowledge about COVID-19 transmission, symptoms and treatment. Among the participated community pharmacists, around 25.7% educated their patients and 17.0% counseled the public about the current available therapeutic options for managing COVID-19 symptom. Most practiced activities hospital pharmacists (17.4%) was exploring new drug therapies or uses, while few hospital pharmacists (13.0%) participated in the antimicrobial stewardship programs and monitored antibiotic uses for COVID-19 cases and co-infections. Pharmacists at age ≥40 years old and have an experience of ≥10 years in the pharmacy field were more knowledgeable about COVID-19 with higher scores (p <0.001 and p= 0.001; respectively). Conclusions: The study revealed an appropriate average knowledge and practice toward COVID-19 among community and hospital pharmacists.
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Society of Health-System Pharmacists. 2020.
36. WHO. Hospital readiness checklist for COVID-19, 24 February 2020 (produced by WHO/Europe): World Health Organization.2020.
37. Elbeddini A, Wen CX, Tayefehchamani Y, et al. Mental health issues impacting pharmacists during COVID-19. Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice. 2020;13:46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40545-020-00252-0
38. Johnston K, O’Reilly CL, Cooper G, et al. The burden of COVID-19 on pharmacists. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhA. 2021;61(2):e61-e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japh.2020.10.013
39. ASHP. PHARMACISTS AS FRONT-LINE RESPONDERS FOR COVID-19 PATIENT CARE: Executive Summary: American Society of Hospital Pharmacists. 2020.
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Mar 29, 2022
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Pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and practice in the UAE toward the public health crisis of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study. Pharm Pract (Granada) [Internet]. 2022 Mar. 29 [cited 2024 Apr. 18];20(1):2628. Available from: https://pharmacypractice.org/index.php/pp/article/view/2628
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