Abolarin Oluwabusayo, Oladipo Habeebullah Jayeola, Chan Dean, Olarewaju Modupe Lydia, Chan Alexandre
Pharmacy Department, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Kwara State, Nigeria.
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2024 Jul 23:10781552241264553. doi: 10.1177/10781552241264553.
Nigeria is a low-middle income country located in sub-Saharan Africa. Although cancer burden has continued to increase over time, there is a lack of pharmacists who specialize in oncology providing pharmaceutical care. The objectives of this study were to understand the perception of hematology/oncology pharmacy practice in Nigeria as well as the unmet education needs.
This is a cross-sectional survey conducted in December 2023. Pharmacists who were active members of various pharmacy organizations in Nigeria were invited to complete the survey. The survey focused on the perceptions of training needs in oncology pharmacy, current challenges and opportunities, as well as resources and support needed. Descriptive statistics were utilized for the data analysis.
Of the 263 responders, the largest group fell between 25 and 34 years old (35%), over half received a Bachelor of Pharmacy as their highest degree (53%), and majority did not receive any oncology pharmacy training as part of their education (73%). Many respondents strongly agreed that pharmacists in Nigeria need specialized training to better serve cancer patients (79%). Cancer therapeutics and chemotherapy pharmacology were more prioritized compared to other training needs (mean (SD): 2.63(1.95) and 2.69(1.64), respectively). The main challenge that respondents faced was a lack of relevant skills and knowledge in oncology pharmacy (mean (SD): 2.23(1.53)). More than a fourth of the respondents were aware about the board certification process (28.8%), citing overcoming the cost barrier as the main obstacle for taking the board examination (mean (SD): 1.92 (1.38)). Respondents preferred online courses and onsite specialty training (75%) as the mode of training to address unmet needs.
Despite the challenges and unmet education needs in hematology/oncology clinical practice, Nigerian pharmacists are very willing to expand their knowledge and improve their skills in patient care. The findings of this study can inform policy makers, healthcare administrators, and pharmacy educators in developing global partnerships among pharmacy organizations which employ targeted strategies like sponsorships to address such unmet needs.
尼日利亚是撒哈拉以南非洲的一个中低收入国家。尽管随着时间的推移癌症负担持续增加，但缺乏专门从事肿瘤学并提供药学服务的药剂师。本研究的目的是了解尼日利亚对血液学/肿瘤学药学实践的看法以及未满足的教育需求。
这是一项于2023年12月进行的横断面调查。邀请了尼日利亚各药学组织的活跃成员药剂师完成调查。该调查重点关注肿瘤学药学培训需求的看法、当前的挑战和机遇以及所需的资源和支持。数据分析采用描述性统计。
在263名受访者中，最大的群体年龄在25至34岁之间（35%），超过一半的人获得药学学士学位作为其最高学位（53%），并且大多数人在其教育过程中没有接受过任何肿瘤学药学培训（73%）。许多受访者强烈同意尼日利亚的药剂师需要专门培训以更好地服务癌症患者（79%）。与其他培训需求相比，癌症治疗学和化疗药理学的优先级更高（平均值（标准差）：分别为2.63(1.95)和2.69(1.64)）。受访者面临的主要挑战是缺乏肿瘤学药学方面的相关技能和知识（平均值（标准差）：2.23(1.53)）。超过四分之一的受访者了解委员会认证过程（28.8%），将克服成本障碍列为参加委员会考试的主要障碍（平均值（标准差）：1.92(1.38)）。受访者更喜欢在线课程和现场专业培训（75%）作为满足未满足需求的培训方式。
尽管血液学/肿瘤学临床实践存在挑战和未满足的教育需求，但尼日利亚药剂师非常愿意扩展他们的知识并提高他们在患者护理方面的技能。本研究的结果可以为政策制定者、医疗保健管理人员和药学教育工作者提供信息，以在药学组织之间建立全球伙伴关系，采用赞助等有针对性的策略来满足此类未满足的需求。
