(076) Pharmacist knowledge, attitudes, practice and barriers towards providing health screening services in the community pharmacy

Publication Number: 738

Background: Patients frequently seek information from community pharmacies about minor ailments, medication information, and general health-related issues. Health screening tests detect diseases before symptoms appear and can help prevent or detect disease early, making treatment easier. Screening tests for diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol have all been developed. Because these tests are simple enough for community pharmacists to perform, they can play an important role in providing health screenings and referring at-risk individuals to their doctors.

Objectives: To examine the pharmacist knowledge, attitudes, practice and barriers towards providing health screening services in the community pharmacy.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among various community pharmacists of Udupi district by administrating a structured questionnaire to the pharmacist to assess knowledge, attitude, practice and barriers towards health-screening services. The questionnaire consisted various domains including demographic characters, pharmacist knowledge regarding the health screening services, pharmacist attitude towards health screening services, practice of health screening services, and barriers when doing the health screening services.

Results: A total of 71 community pharmacists from Udupi district were surveyed in the study. The vast majority (76.1%) of pharmacists demonstrated adequate knowledge and awareness of health-screening services, as well as a positive attitude toward health screening tests. Despite this, 64.8% of pharmacists opposed providing health screening services. The reasons for this lack of interest in performing health screening services were cited as a lack of training (32.4%), lack of time (26.8%), non-payment (21.1%) for health screening services performed.

Conclusions: As screening for disease is possible in community pharmacies and community pharmacists are aware of the benefits of early screening, pharmacists could gain screening competence by receiving training in health screening services. By providing health screening services, the community pharmacist can play an important role in the health care service.