Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal.
BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
J Nepal Health Res Counc. 2023 Mar 10;20(3):739-745. doi: 10.33314/jnhrc.v20i3.4388.
The skill, accessibility, and knowledge of community pharmacists have been paramount in managing pandemics. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of community pharmacy personnel towards tackling COVID-19 pandemic which might help concerned authorities to take effective actions to eliminate the gaps for the management of such pandemic in an efficient way.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 428 community pharmacy personnel from different community pharmacies in Kathmandu, Nepal from December 2021 to February 2022. Statistical analysis was done through SPSS® v21 and MedCalc for Windows v12.3.0.
Most of the participants (42.76%) had certificate-level degrees in their respective fields and one to five years of working experience (48.84%). Only 29.67% of the respondents had good knowledge towards tackling COVID-19, whereas good attitude and practice were demonstrated by 59.11% and 42.29% respectively. The participants with higher degrees and more working experience had better knowledge, attitude, and practice. Education level bachelor and above was independent predictor of good knowledge (OR 20.69, 95% CI 11.30-37.90). Knowledge and practice (Spearman's rho: 0.135; P ≤0.005) and attitude and practice (Spearman's rho: 0.095; P = 0.049) scores were positively correlated.
The significant association of community pharmacy personnel's educational level with knowledge, attitude, and practices demands the necessity of policy-making bodies' involvement for the mandatory presence of well-qualified pharmacists and regular training at the community pharmacy level. Furthermore, it is high time to reinforce the drug regulatory acts, regulations, and codes all over the nation.
社区药剂师的技能、可及性和知识在应对大流行方面至关重要。本研究旨在评估社区药剂师人员在应对 COVID-19 大流行方面的知识、态度和实践，这可能有助于有关当局采取有效行动，以有效消除此类大流行管理方面的差距。
2021 年 12 月至 2022 年 2 月，在尼泊尔加德满都的不同社区药房对 428 名社区药房工作人员进行了横断面研究。统计分析采用 SPSS® v21 和 MedCalc for Windows v12.3.0 进行。
大多数参与者（42.76%）在各自领域拥有证书级学位，有 1 至 5 年的工作经验（48.84%）。只有 29.67%的受访者对应对 COVID-19 有较好的了解，而 59.11%和 42.29%的受访者表现出较好的态度和实践。具有较高学历和更多工作经验的参与者具有更好的知识、态度和实践。更高的教育程度是良好知识的独立预测因子（OR 20.69，95%CI 11.30-37.90）。知识和实践（Spearman's rho：0.135；P ≤0.005）和态度与实践（Spearman's rho：0.095；P = 0.049）得分呈正相关。
社区药剂师人员教育水平与知识、态度和实践的显著相关性要求决策机构参与制定强制性规定，要求社区药剂师具有良好的资质，并在社区药剂师层面进行定期培训。此外，现在是加强全国范围内的药品监管法案、法规和规范的时候了。
