Community pharmacists' use, perception and knowledge on dietary supplements: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists are commonly tasked with recommending the appropriate dietary supplement and advising the patients of their correct and safe use. Previous research, conducted on pharmacy students, showed that they did not always use the evidence based sources of information, with personal use identified as a significant predictor influencing the decision to recommend a supplement. OBJECTIVES: To compare use, perceptions and knowledge of dietary supplements of pharmacists with different years of work experience and to explore factors that could influence their recommendation of supplements. METHODS: A questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted on Croatian community pharmacists in September 2017. The questionnaire explored pharmacists' demographic characteristics, use, perceptions and knowledge of dietary supplements. Pharmacists (N=102) were divided in two groups based on their work experience: P0 (<10 years) and P1 (≥10 years). RESULTS: All included pharmacists had high knowledge scores without differences between groups (P0=10, IQR 9-12 vs P1=11, IQR 9-12, expressed as median and interquartile range (IQR), p = 0.275). Less experienced pharmacists perceived there was less research conducted on the dietary supplements compared to their more experienced counterparts (P0=1, IQR 1-2 vs P1=2, IQR 2-3, expressed as median and interquartile range, p < 0.001). Groups differed in sources used when choosing the appropriate supplement with P0 using higher quality sources such as systematic reviews in comparison to P1 (32.1% vs 8.7%, p = 0.004). Pharmacists' decision to recommend a dietary supplement was influenced by their personal use (odds ratio 0.216, 95%CI 0.068:0.689, p = 0.01) and work experience (odds ratio 0.154, 95%CI 0.045:0.530, p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacists did not use the high quality sources when recommending dietary supplements and their decision to recommend the supplement was not based on objective evaluation of evidence. Further education about the practice of evidence-based pharmacy is necessary, with special emphasis on senior pharmacists who might have missed that aspect during their formal education

No disponible

Community pharmacists' use, perception and knowledge on dietary supplements: a cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists are commonly tasked with recommending the appropriate dietary supplement and advising the patients of their correct and safe use. Previous research, conducted on pharmacy students, showed that they did not always use the evidence based sources of information, with personal use identified as a significant predictor influencing the decision to recommend a supplement. OBJECTIVES: To compare use, perceptions and knowledge of dietary supplements of pharmacists with different years of work experience and to explore factors that could influence their recommendation of supplements. METHODS: A questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted on Croatian community pharmacists in September 2017. The questionnaire explored pharmacists' demographic characteristics, use, perceptions and knowledge of dietary supplements. Pharmacists (N=102) were divided in two groups based on their work experience: P0 (<10 years) and P1 (≥10 years). RESULTS: All included pharmacists had high knowledge scores without differences between groups (P0=10, IQR 9-12 vs P1=11, IQR 9-12, expressed as median and interquartile range (IQR), p=0.275). Less experienced pharmacists perceived there was less research conducted on the dietary supplements compared to their more experienced counterparts (P0=1, IQR 1-2 vs P1=2, IQR 2-3, expressed as median and interquartile range, p<0.001). Groups differed in sources used when choosing the appropriate supplement with P0 using higher quality sources such as systematic reviews in comparison to P1 (32.1% vs 8.7%, p=0.004). Pharmacists' decision to recommend a dietary supplement was influenced by their personal use (odds ratio 0.216, 95%CI 0.068:0.689, p=0.01) and work experience (odds ratio 0.154, 95%CI 0.045:0.530, p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacists did not use the high quality sources when recommending dietary supplements and their decision to recommend the supplement was not based on objective evaluation of evidence. Further education about the practice of evidence-based pharmacy is necessary, with special emphasis on senior pharmacists who might have missed that aspect during their formal education.

Clinical knowledge of community pharmacists in Croatia for detecting drug-related problems.

Background Drug-related problems (DRPs) interfere with patient's health outcomes and have a negative impact on healthcare resources. Successful management of DRPs is an essential part of pharmaceutical care. Pharmacists should have adequate clinical knowledge in order to effectively implement pharmaceutical care and manage DRPs. Objective To determine the clinical knowledge of community pharmacists in Croatia to detect and resolve DRPs. Method A sample of 302 community pharmacists have anonymously and voluntarily completed the validated survey-based clinical knowledge measurement tool. For each completed survey, all statements were scored individually, and a total score was calculated. The lowest possible total score was 0 and the highest was 80. Higher survey score indicates a higher level of clinical knowledge to detect and resolve a DRP. Results All community pharmacists had a mean score of 45.5 ± 8.6, while pharmacists from a pharmacy chain with mandatory education had a higher mean score of 50.2 ± 6.5. Multivariate linear regression revealed that only additional education (ß = 0.272, p < 0.001) is associated with a higher mean score, while age and gender have no influence on the survey score. Conclusion Additional education of community pharmacists could increase their clinical knowledge to detect and resolve DRPs.