Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt.
Int J Clin Pract. 2021 Nov;75(11):e14762. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.14762. Epub 2021 Sep 20.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is considered one of the most important public health crises all over the world and in Egypt. Community pharmacists represent the third largest health care professional group after physicians and nurses. Community pharmacists are expected to be fully prepared at the frontline of defending their community needs by limiting the spread of COVID-19 via different pharmaceutical care services.
This study aimed to evaluate the sources of knowledge and readiness of community pharmacists in facing COVID-19 early outbreak in Egypt.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed via a self-administered online google form questionnaire during the early period from 14 April to 3 June 2020. The questionnaire focused on; evaluating education level, sources of information, and readiness of Egyptian community pharmacists in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
A total of 318 community pharmacists from Egypt participated in this questionnaire. About half of the surveyed pharmacists reported that they were frequently consulted and that their patients were seeking consultation regarding COVID-19 management more than 10 times per day. More than half of the pharmacists reported using social media as a source of information and knew the right social distancing recommendations. Regarding protective measures, only a quarter of pharmacists disclosed the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE). Nevertheless, the majority of pharmacists significantly reported some initial lack of support either inform of recommendations or PPE supply.
The study revealed the dependence of community pharmacists on social media as the main source of information and the lack of early awareness of evidence-based practice resources. Community pharmacists were in need of more initial support to achieve better satisfaction, patient counselling and infection control. Corrective measures were promptly undertaken to support and satisfy the Egyptian community pharmacists' initial awareness and readiness facing COVID-19.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）疫情被认为是全球和埃及最重要的公共卫生危机之一。社区药剂师是仅次于医生和护士的第三大医疗保健专业群体。社区药剂师有望通过提供各种药物护理服务来限制 COVID-19 的传播，从而在捍卫社区需求的第一线做好充分准备。
本研究旨在评估埃及社区药剂师应对 COVID-19 早期爆发的知识来源和准备情况。
采用描述性横断面研究，通过 2020 年 4 月 14 日至 6 月 3 日期间的在线谷歌表格问卷进行自我管理。问卷侧重于评估教育水平、信息来源以及埃及社区药剂师在 COVID-19 大流行危机中的准备情况。
共有来自埃及的 318 名社区药剂师参加了本次问卷调查。约一半的被调查药剂师报告说，他们经常被咨询，并且他们的患者每天寻求关于 COVID-19 管理的咨询超过 10 次。超过一半的药剂师报告说他们使用社交媒体作为信息来源，并了解正确的社交距离建议。关于防护措施，只有四分之一的药剂师透露了个人防护设备（PPE）的可用性。然而，大多数药剂师都表示在最初阶段缺乏支持，无论是建议还是 PPE 供应方面。
该研究表明，社区药剂师依赖社交媒体作为主要信息来源，并且缺乏对循证实践资源的早期认识。社区药剂师需要更多的初始支持，以实现更好的满意度、患者咨询和感染控制。及时采取了纠正措施来支持和满足埃及社区药剂师在面对 COVID-19 时的初始意识和准备情况。
