Yılmaz Zekiye Kübra, Şencan Nazlı
Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, İstanbul, Turkey
Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Management, İstanbul, Turkey
Turk J Pharm Sci. 2021 Oct 28;18(5):530-540. doi: 10.4274/tjps.galenos.2020.01212.
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)-related cases and deaths are ongoing throughout the world, but there is still no effective drug in its treatment, and the vaccine supply is not adequate for the global population. It is important that pharmacists have sufficient knowledge and awareness to prevent and control the disease. COVID-19 has been widely covered in the media, which has been a source widely used by healthcare professionals. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and impressions of community pharmacists about COVID-19 and the factors affecting them.
The questions in this survey were formed using the guideline created by the World Health Organization, a guide composed by the Turkish COVID-19 Scholarly Commission, and data disclosed to the public on the website of the Ministry of Health. The questionnaire was designed with Google forms and then applied to community pharmacists all over Turkey by sharing the survey link.
Analyses of 393 questionnaires showed that Ministry of Health/government statements, the internet (scientific sources), and the media were the preferred sources of information (96.7%, 89.6%, and 84%, respectively). “Ways to avoid COVID-19” was the most searched title (96.9%). It was determined that the names of the two drugs most frequently mentioned by the participants to be used in the treatment of COVID-19 in Turkey were hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin (57.5%; 50.1%, respectively). Participants who received information from the media gave less education to patients/customers on personal protection measures against COVID-19 (83.3%) and symptoms of COVID-19 (78.8%); however, their behavior regarding the training of pharmacy personnel was found to be the opposite. It has been determined that about half of the participants (46.6%) mostly trust the Ministry of Health regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Media and other sources influence the knowledge, behavior and impressions of pharmacists’. Having a high level of knowledge positively affects people’s behavior. It is important for pharmacists to have accurate information about COVID-19 and to transfer their knowledge to the community to provide patient education and to prevent/control the spread of COVID-19.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）相关病例和死亡在全球持续出现，但治疗方面仍无有效药物，且疫苗供应不足以满足全球人口需求。药剂师具备足够的疾病防控知识和意识很重要。COVID-19在媒体上得到广泛报道，这一直是医疗保健专业人员广泛使用的信息来源。本研究旨在评估社区药剂师对COVID-19的知识、态度和看法以及影响他们的因素。
本调查中的问题是根据世界卫生组织制定的指南、土耳其COVID-19学术委员会编写的指南以及卫生部网站上向公众披露的数据形成的。问卷通过谷歌表单设计，然后通过分享调查链接应用于土耳其各地的社区药剂师。
对393份问卷的分析表明，卫生部/政府声明、互联网（科学来源）和媒体是首选的信息来源（分别为96.7%、89.6%和84%）。“避免感染COVID-19的方法”是搜索最多的主题（96.9%）。确定在土耳其参与者最常提及的用于治疗COVID-19的两种药物名称是羟氯喹和阿奇霉素（分别为57.5%；50.1%）。从媒体获取信息的参与者对患者/客户进行COVID-19个人防护措施（83.3%）和COVID-19症状（78.8%）方面的教育较少；然而，发现他们在药剂人员培训方面的行为则相反。已确定约一半的参与者（46.6%）在COVID-19大流行方面主要信任卫生部。
媒体和其他来源影响药剂师的知识、行为和看法。具备高水平知识对人们的行为有积极影响。药剂师掌握关于COVID-19的准确信息并将其知识传授给社区以提供患者教育并预防/控制COVID-19传播很重要。
