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Competency and Attitude of Pharmacists in the Management of Common Ailments Among Community Pharmacy in Adama Town, Adama, Ethiopia, 2021

Received: 18 January 2022    Accepted: 21 February 2022    Published: 28 February 2022
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Abstract

Community pharmacists are one of the most accessible of all health workers in the community, who are playing a key role in the delivering the primary health care services. Traditionally pharmacists' role is mostly confined to dispensing medication and provides public health services rarely. The current role of community pharmacists should include dispensing medicines with a prescription or without a prescription, advice patients during dispensing of prescription and non-prescription drugs, deliver drug information to health professionals, patients and to the public, and promotes health programmes. This advancement in pharmacy service demands competent pharmacists. The objective of the study was to evaluate the competency and attitude of pharmacists in the management of common ailments among community pharmacies in Adama Town, Adama, Ethiopia, 2021. A cross sectional study was conducted on 44 pharmacists working at community pharmacies in Adama Town from April 30 to July 30, 2021. Data was collected by face-to-face interview. Data was cleared, categorized, compiled, and coded before analyzed by using SPSS version 26.0. Descriptive statistics computed for the study variables and frequency distribution tables and figures was used to describe the findings. Majority of the study participants, 23 (52.3%), were males, the mean age of the participants is 33 years old. The study revealed that 26 (59.1%) were competent [mean > 0.7815, SD=0.27] while 40.9% were incompetent [mean < 0.7815]. Accordingly 50% of respondents had positive attitude (mean > 3.67) while the rest, 50% were negative attitudes. Lack of knowledge or clinical skills, lack of access to additional training programs and lack of time are the major reasons for incompetency. Majority of the community pharmacist are competent. But, 50% of the pharmacists had a negative attitude toward managements of common ailments. Reasons for incompetency such as inadequate knowledge, lack of access to training programs, inadequate time and the negative attitudes of pharmacists may be barriers for managements of common ailments. Town Health Bureaus should organize and provide in-service training and advocate managements of common ailments as one area in a continuous professional development program to pharmacists working in community pharmacies.

Published in International Journal of Pharmacy and Chemistry (Volume 8, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijpc.20220801.13
Page(s) 12-19
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Community Pharmacy, Pharmacists, Competency, Attitude, Adama Town

References
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  • APA Style

    Tadesse Bekeshe Rundessa, Birhanu Jelkeba Negeri, Usmael Mohammed Hasan. (2022). Competency and Attitude of Pharmacists in the Management of Common Ailments Among Community Pharmacy in Adama Town, Adama, Ethiopia, 2021. International Journal of Pharmacy and Chemistry, 8(1), 12-19. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpc.20220801.13

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    ACS Style

    Tadesse Bekeshe Rundessa; Birhanu Jelkeba Negeri; Usmael Mohammed Hasan. Competency and Attitude of Pharmacists in the Management of Common Ailments Among Community Pharmacy in Adama Town, Adama, Ethiopia, 2021. Int. J. Pharm. Chem. 2022, 8(1), 12-19. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpc.20220801.13

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    AMA Style

    Tadesse Bekeshe Rundessa, Birhanu Jelkeba Negeri, Usmael Mohammed Hasan. Competency and Attitude of Pharmacists in the Management of Common Ailments Among Community Pharmacy in Adama Town, Adama, Ethiopia, 2021. Int J Pharm Chem. 2022;8(1):12-19. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpc.20220801.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijpc.20220801.13,
      author = {Tadesse Bekeshe Rundessa and Birhanu Jelkeba Negeri and Usmael Mohammed Hasan},
      title = {Competency and Attitude of Pharmacists in the Management of Common Ailments Among Community Pharmacy in Adama Town, Adama, Ethiopia, 2021},
      journal = {International Journal of Pharmacy and Chemistry},
      volume = {8},
      number = {1},
      pages = {12-19},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijpc.20220801.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpc.20220801.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijpc.20220801.13},
      abstract = {Community pharmacists are one of the most accessible of all health workers in the community, who are playing a key role in the delivering the primary health care services. Traditionally pharmacists' role is mostly confined to dispensing medication and provides public health services rarely. The current role of community pharmacists should include dispensing medicines with a prescription or without a prescription, advice patients during dispensing of prescription and non-prescription drugs, deliver drug information to health professionals, patients and to the public, and promotes health programmes. This advancement in pharmacy service demands competent pharmacists. The objective of the study was to evaluate the competency and attitude of pharmacists in the management of common ailments among community pharmacies in Adama Town, Adama, Ethiopia, 2021. A cross sectional study was conducted on 44 pharmacists working at community pharmacies in Adama Town from April 30 to July 30, 2021. Data was collected by face-to-face interview. Data was cleared, categorized, compiled, and coded before analyzed by using SPSS version 26.0. Descriptive statistics computed for the study variables and frequency distribution tables and figures was used to describe the findings. Majority of the study participants, 23 (52.3%), were males, the mean age of the participants is 33 years old. The study revealed that 26 (59.1%) were competent [mean > 0.7815, SD=0.27] while 40.9% were incompetent [mean  3.67) while the rest, 50% were negative attitudes. Lack of knowledge or clinical skills, lack of access to additional training programs and lack of time are the major reasons for incompetency. Majority of the community pharmacist are competent. But, 50% of the pharmacists had a negative attitude toward managements of common ailments. Reasons for incompetency such as inadequate knowledge, lack of access to training programs, inadequate time and the negative attitudes of pharmacists may be barriers for managements of common ailments. Town Health Bureaus should organize and provide in-service training and advocate managements of common ailments as one area in a continuous professional development program to pharmacists working in community pharmacies.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    AU  - Tadesse Bekeshe Rundessa
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    T2  - International Journal of Pharmacy and Chemistry
    JF  - International Journal of Pharmacy and Chemistry
    JO  - International Journal of Pharmacy and Chemistry
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    AB  - Community pharmacists are one of the most accessible of all health workers in the community, who are playing a key role in the delivering the primary health care services. Traditionally pharmacists' role is mostly confined to dispensing medication and provides public health services rarely. The current role of community pharmacists should include dispensing medicines with a prescription or without a prescription, advice patients during dispensing of prescription and non-prescription drugs, deliver drug information to health professionals, patients and to the public, and promotes health programmes. This advancement in pharmacy service demands competent pharmacists. The objective of the study was to evaluate the competency and attitude of pharmacists in the management of common ailments among community pharmacies in Adama Town, Adama, Ethiopia, 2021. A cross sectional study was conducted on 44 pharmacists working at community pharmacies in Adama Town from April 30 to July 30, 2021. Data was collected by face-to-face interview. Data was cleared, categorized, compiled, and coded before analyzed by using SPSS version 26.0. Descriptive statistics computed for the study variables and frequency distribution tables and figures was used to describe the findings. Majority of the study participants, 23 (52.3%), were males, the mean age of the participants is 33 years old. The study revealed that 26 (59.1%) were competent [mean > 0.7815, SD=0.27] while 40.9% were incompetent [mean  3.67) while the rest, 50% were negative attitudes. Lack of knowledge or clinical skills, lack of access to additional training programs and lack of time are the major reasons for incompetency. Majority of the community pharmacist are competent. But, 50% of the pharmacists had a negative attitude toward managements of common ailments. Reasons for incompetency such as inadequate knowledge, lack of access to training programs, inadequate time and the negative attitudes of pharmacists may be barriers for managements of common ailments. Town Health Bureaus should organize and provide in-service training and advocate managements of common ailments as one area in a continuous professional development program to pharmacists working in community pharmacies.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Distribution Department, Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service, Adama Branch, Adama, Ethiopia

  • Warehouse and Inventory Management, Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service, Adama Branch, Adama, Ethiopia

  • School of Public Health, Adama Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Medical College, Adama, Ethiopia

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