A national analysis of the pharmacy workforce in Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists play a fundamental role in healthcare systems and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through quality primary healthcare service provision. While the World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts a global shortage of health workforce by 2030, mainly affecting low- and middle-income nations (LMICs), limited published literature is found regarding pharmacy workforce capacity in LMICs, including Indonesia. This paper aims to analyse pharmacists' capacity in Indonesia to identify emerging workforce planning gaps for future workforce planning and policies in Indonesia. METHOD: Several data sources were accessed, including a database from the National Pharmacy Committee and the professional leadership body in Indonesia. Descriptive (frequencies, percentages, and mean), correlational and time-series analysis using curve estimation were conducted. Secondary data on the number of programmes, pharmacy students, pharmacy workforce (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) per province were obtained from the Ministry websites and reports. RESULT: There were a total of 77 191 registered pharmacists in Indonesia in 2019. The pharmacists' pyramid showed a youth bulge as a general indication of market expansion in the education sector correlating to the pharmacy programme's number and size. There was a variation in pharmacy workforce density and access to pharmacy programmes across islands, which also were strongly correlated. Forecasting estimates that by 2030, women will represent around 86% of pharmacists in Indonesia. More female pharmacists were found working in the hospital and primary healthcare (providing direct services to patients) than male pharmacists. Younger pharmacists worked in the industrial sector, while older pharmacists worked in governmental and educational institutions. CONCLUSION: This study signposted workforce planning gaps for policy development in Indonesia, including a need to develop structured training to support early career pharmacists in their practice. There is also a need for better access to professional development programmes designed to support female pharmacists return to the regulated workforce following career breaks. National policy to promote equitable distribution and retention of pharmacists is recommended.

Psychoeducation Improved Illness Perception and Expressed Emotion of Family Caregivers of Patients with Schizophrenia.

Social interventions such as psychoeducation, in conjunction with appropriate antipsychotic medications, positively impact schizophrenic patients' recovery. The aim of this 12-week study was to compare standard Indonesian mental healthcare for schizophrenia with psychoeducation-enriched care for family members, investigating both family and patient parameters. Sixty-four family participants meeting pre-set criteria were recruited from various online Indonesian community forums, social media, seminars/gathering events, and inpatient visits. Each family member was the main care provider for one patient with a schizophrenia diagnosis. Family participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups (control or intervention); both groups received equal personal time and attention from staff but the control group lacked the specific psychoeducational aspect of the intervention. In comparison with the control group, pre- and post-evaluation revealed significant positive effects in the intervention group for illness perception (F(ave) = 124.85; d(ave) = 2.72) and expressed emotion (OR(ave) = 0.39) among family members. For the patients, there was a significant positive effect on medication adherence (F(1, 62) = 21.54; p < 0.001, d(intervention) = 1.31) if their family members were in the intervention group. Partial least-squares path modeling revealed that low expressed emotion in family members was positively correlated with high medication adherence (ß = -0.718; p < 0.001) in patients. This study provides evidence for the patient and family benefits of family psychoeducation on schizophrenia in a diverse Indonesian population.