Pharmacists’ perception of their roles and involvement in coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19)

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Date
2020-09
Authors
Joda, A.E.
Olugbake, O.A.
Oyetunde, O.O.
Awofisayo, O.
Ibrahim, M.B.
Williams, F.E.
Ayeni, F.A.
Mosanya, A.U.
Ologunagba, M.O.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Basic and Social Pharmacy Research
Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 was declared a “public health emergency of international concern” in January 2020 and a pandemic in March 2020 by WHO. With lockdown observed globally, there is greater dependence on pharmacists as the first point of contact to meet the public’s healthcare needs. However, the roles of pharmacists have not been clearly defined. Objectives: To document pharmacists’ perceptions of their roles in the COVID 19 outbreak and adequacy of training for emergency/pandemic situations. Methods: An online survey using pharmacists WhatsApp groups was carried out. Sample size was calculated as 384. A mobile App, FormsApp®, was used to create and disseminate the survey among pharmacists’ WhatsApp groups. Collected data was exported to Microsoft Excel and descriptive and thematic analysis with coding carried out. Ethical approval was obtained from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idiaraba, Lagos. Results: A total of 716 respondents participated in the study. The result shows 56% female participation, and respondents’ mean age as 39.04 ±10.46 years. Most common roles by respondents are counselling and advice (95%), information dissemination (91%) and sales of protective gear (60%). About 47% of the respondents believe pharmacists are adequately trained for emergencies while less than a quarter (24.3%) rated pharmacists’ involvement in COVID-19 pandemic as fully involved. Conclusion: From the study, pharmacists identified health education and counselling; production of sanitizers/PPE and drug therapy management as key roles for pharmacists in the pandemic while to improve involvement, training of pharmacists, provision of PPE and collaboration with emergency teams were identified.
Description
Scholarly articles
Keywords
COVID-19 , Pharmacists Roles , Pandemic , Pharmacists involvement and training , Research Subject Categories::PHARMACY::Pharmacognosy
Citation
Joda AE, Olugbake OA, Oyetunde OO, Awofisayo O, Ibrahim M, Williams FE, Ayeni FA, Mosanya AU and Ologunagba MO. Pharmacists’ Perception of their Roles and Involvement in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Journal of Basic and Social Pharmacy Research, 2020;1(Supplement 1):S68-S82