Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2024 Feb 28;24(1):107. doi: 10.1186/s12906-024-04391-8.
While community pharmacists are uniquely positioned to promote the safe and effective use of complementary and alternative medicine, their potential role remains largely untapped. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to complementary and alternative medicine products among community pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates and explore the correlates of knowledge in the study sample.
Using a stratified random sampling frame, a national survey of community pharmacists was conducted in the United Arab Emirates. In a face-to-face interaction, participants completed a multi-component questionnaire consisting of four sections: sociodemographic and general characteristics; knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine products and usage; attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine and practices related to complementary and alternative medicine. Based on participants' answers, scores were calculated with higher scores indicating more positive knowledge, attitudes, and practices.
373 community pharmacists participated in the study (response rate: 83%). For the knowledge questions, more than 50% of community pharmacists correctly answered the functions of complementary and alternative medicine, however lower percentages were noted for the side effects and drug interactions questions. Most community pharmacists had positive attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine, except for particular aspects such as efficacy, where 40% agreed that complementary and alternative medicine is only effective in treating minor complaints. As for practices, while more than 70% of participants counseled patients on complementary and alternative medicine use, only 47% reported the toxic effects when encountered. Multiple linear regressions showed that community pharmacists working in independent pharmacies, those with fewer years of experience, and those who did not receive complementary and alternative medicine education during their academic degree had lower knowledge scores (p < 0.05).
The findings of this study showed that community pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates have good knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine functions and generally positive attitudes and practices, with few gaps identified in each. Together, these findings provide critical evidence for the development of targeted interventions to promote the role of community pharmacists towards safe and effective complementary and alternative medicine use in the country.
社区药剂师在促进补充和替代医学的安全有效使用方面具有独特的优势，但他们的潜在作用在很大程度上尚未得到开发。本研究的目的是评估阿联酋社区药剂师与补充和替代医学产品相关的知识、态度和实践，并探讨研究样本中知识的相关性。
使用分层随机抽样框架，在阿联酋对社区药剂师进行了一项全国性调查。在面对面的互动中，参与者完成了一个由四个部分组成的多组分问卷：社会人口统计学和一般特征；补充和替代医学产品的知识和使用；对补充和替代医学的态度以及与补充和替代医学相关的实践。根据参与者的回答，计算了分数，分数越高表示知识、态度和实践越积极。
373 名社区药剂师参与了这项研究（应答率：83%）。对于知识问题，超过 50%的社区药剂师正确回答了补充和替代医学的功能，但对于副作用和药物相互作用问题的回答比例较低。大多数社区药剂师对补充和替代医学持积极态度，但对于特定方面，如疗效，有 40%的人认为补充和替代医学仅对治疗轻微疾病有效。至于实践，虽然超过 70%的参与者会就补充和替代医学的使用向患者提供咨询，但只有 47%的人在遇到时会报告毒性作用。多元线性回归显示，在独立药房工作的社区药剂师、经验较少的社区药剂师以及在学位期间未接受补充和替代医学教育的社区药剂师的知识得分较低（p<0.05）。
本研究结果表明，阿联酋的社区药剂师对补充和替代医学的功能有很好的了解，普遍持有积极的态度和实践，每个方面都很少有差距。这些发现为制定有针对性的干预措施提供了重要证据，以促进社区药剂师在该国安全有效使用补充和替代医学的作用。
