Epidemiology, STI, and HIV Research Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2018 Jul 24;13(7):e0196648. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196648. eCollection 2018.
Although the worldwide incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is slowly decreasing, annual infection rates in Peru remain among the highest in the Americas. Pharmacies could play an important role in facilitating early detection of TB. However, the awareness, expertise and cooperation of pharmacy workers is fundamental. This study explored the TB-related knowledge, attitudes and practices of pharmacy workers in a district with one of the highest incidences of TB in Peru.
This cross-sectional study applied a questionnaire that was administered face to face using smartphones with one pharmacy worker at each of 45 randomly selected pharmacies in the El Agustino district of Lima, Peru.
Participants were primarily female (78%) and had an average age of 31.3 years old (range 18-57 years old). Only 11% of participants were pharmacists with complete university training. The pharmacy workers' knowledge was adequate; however, workers had important knowledge gaps and myths regarding prevention of TB transmission. Most pharmacy workers (77%) reported they would send a client with a history of cough for more than two weeks to a healthcare center, while 23% reported they would offer them antitussive medication or antibiotics. Almost all workers reported talking with clients about diseases and reported respiratory symptoms as one of the most common causes for consultation (60%). Most participants expressed interest in learning more about TB and expanding their involvement in the fight against TB in their community.
Pharmacy workers have adequate knowledge about TB. However, we identified gaps in knowledge with respect to prevention of TB transmission. Pharmacy workers commonly see patients with respiratory symptoms and some offer recommendations, including for treatment. Pharmacy workers are willing to learn more and contribute to TB control and could be a valuable asset in the control and prevention of TB in Peru. To achieve this integration of pharmacy workers into TB control and prevention, more research is needed.
尽管全球结核病（TB）的发病率正在缓慢下降，但秘鲁的年感染率仍位居美洲之首。药店在促进结核病的早期发现方面可以发挥重要作用。然而，药剂师的意识、专业知识和合作是至关重要的。本研究探讨了秘鲁一个结核病发病率最高的地区的药店工作人员与结核病相关的知识、态度和实践。
本横断面研究采用了一种问卷调查，使用智能手机面对面进行，在秘鲁利马的埃尔阿古斯丁区随机选择的 45 家药店中的每家药店各有一名药店工作人员参与。
参与者主要为女性（78%），平均年龄为 31.3 岁（18-57 岁）。仅有 11%的参与者是接受过完整大学培训的药剂师。药店工作人员的知识水平尚可；然而，他们在预防结核病传播方面存在重要的知识差距和误解。大多数药店工作人员（77%）表示，他们会将有持续咳嗽超过两周病史的患者送到医疗中心，而 23%的工作人员表示他们会给患者止咳药或抗生素。几乎所有的工作人员都表示会与客户讨论疾病，并表示呼吸系统症状是最常见的咨询原因之一（60%）。大多数参与者表示有兴趣了解更多关于结核病的知识，并扩大他们在社区抗击结核病方面的参与。
药店工作人员对结核病有足够的了解。然而，我们发现他们在预防结核病传播方面存在知识差距。药店工作人员经常看到有呼吸系统症状的患者，有些会提供建议，包括治疗建议。药店工作人员愿意学习更多知识，为结核病控制做出贡献，在秘鲁控制和预防结核病方面可以成为有价值的资源。为了实现药店工作人员在结核病控制和预防方面的整合，还需要更多的研究。
