Alshehri Fahad S, Alorfi Nasser M, Ashour Ahmed M, Jairoun Ammar Abdulrahman, Wali Saad M, Aldurdunji Mohammed M, Alsharif Shaker T, Alhasani Reem Hasaballah, Aldekhail Nasser M, Alshehri Abdullah S, Hakami Alqassem Y
Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al- Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
King Salman Center for Disability Research, Riyadh, 11614, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 Jul 8;25(1):939. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-13098-6.
Congenital impairments, arising from a range of genetic, environmental, dietary, and teratogenic factors, are a significant public health concern. Pharmacists play a key role in preventing these conditions by ensuring pharmaceutical safety and providing maternal health education. However, there is limited research on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pharmacists in Saudi Arabia regarding the causes of congenital impairments.
This study aimed to assess pharmacists' awareness, perceptions, and practices related to these factors and identify key demographic influences on their knowledge and engagement.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among licensed pharmacists based in Saudi Arabia, including those working in clinical, academic, hospital, and community settings. A standardized and validated questionnaire comprising 30 items divided across knowledge, attitude, and practice domains was used to assess pharmacists' perspectives. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate linear regression to identify the key demographic factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practice scores.
The study included a total of 424 pharmacists, the majority of whom held a master's degree (60.4%), were male (73.6%), and were aged between 25 and 34 years old (41.5%). Hospital pharmacists achieved significantly higher knowledge (4.39 ± 1.48, P < 0.001), attitude (29.20 ± 5.49, P = 0.000), and practice (33.16 ± 6.84, P < 0.001) scores than community pharmacists. The knowledge gaps identified concerned the impact of environmental contaminants (28.5%) and maternal obesity (30.9%) on fetal development. However, pharmacists showed strong positive attitudes toward preventive measures, with 49.1% supporting increased training and 52.8% endorsing genetic screening as essential interventions.
The study highlights significant gaps in pharmacists' understanding and practice concerning congenital impairments, particularly regarding lifestyle and environmental risk factors. Despite strong support for pharmacist training, participation in public health campaigns and patient counseling on teratogenic risks remains limited. To enhance congenital disability prevention efforts in Saudi Arabia, these findings emphasize the need for improved pharmacist knowledge, structured training programs, and more extensive integration of pharmacists within maternal healthcare teams.
由一系列遗传、环境、饮食和致畸因素引起的先天性缺陷是一个重大的公共卫生问题。药剂师在通过确保药品安全和提供孕产妇健康教育来预防这些疾病方面发挥着关键作用。然而，关于沙特阿拉伯药剂师对先天性缺陷病因的知识、态度和实践的研究有限。
本研究旨在评估药剂师对这些因素的认识、看法和实践，并确定对其知识和参与度有重要影响的人口统计学因素。
对沙特阿拉伯的执业药剂师进行了一项横断面调查，包括在临床、学术、医院和社区环境中工作的药剂师。使用一份标准化且经过验证的问卷，该问卷包含30个项目，分为知识、态度和实践领域，以评估药剂师的观点。使用描述性统计和多元线性回归分析数据，以确定与知识、态度和实践得分相关的关键人口统计学因素。
该研究共纳入424名药剂师，其中大多数拥有硕士学位（60.4%），为男性（73.6%），年龄在25至34岁之间（41.5%）。医院药剂师在知识（4.39±1.48，P<0.001）、态度（29.20±5.49，P = 0.000）和实践（33.16±6.84，P<0.001）得分方面显著高于社区药剂师。发现的知识差距涉及环境污染物（28.5%）和孕产妇肥胖（30.9%）对胎儿发育的影响。然而，药剂师对预防措施表现出强烈的积极态度，49.1%的人支持增加培训，52.8%的人认可基因筛查为必要的干预措施。
该研究突出了药剂师在先天性缺陷的理解和实践方面存在的重大差距，特别是在生活方式和环境风险因素方面。尽管大力支持药剂师培训，但参与公共卫生运动和就致畸风险为患者提供咨询的情况仍然有限。为了加强沙特阿拉伯的先天性残疾预防工作，这些发现强调需要提高药剂师的知识水平、制定结构化培训计划，并使药剂师更广泛地融入孕产妇医疗团队。
