Predictors of enablers and barriers to community pharmacists' management of minor ailments in a developing setting: A theory-driven assessment

Abstract

Background: The clinical and financial burdens associated with minor ailments are well documented, but published evidence suggests that minor ailment services led by community pharmacists have a remarkable positive impact, mainly in developed settings. There is a paucity of evidence on community pharmacists' self-perceived enablers and barriers to the effective management of minor ailments.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to identify community pharmacists' self-perceived enablers and barriers to the effective management of minor ailments as well as their significant predictors.

Methods: A Kurt Lewin's theory-driven cross-sectional survey of 305 community pharmacists was conducted in Qatar using a pretested 25-item structured questionnaire developed with an adapted conceptual framework focused on 4 key areas: education, regulation, practice, and research. Bivariate logistic regression was used to identify significant predictors of community pharmacists' self-perceived enablers and barriers.

Results: The response rate was 92.5% (282/305). Most of the respondents (68.1%) were males, who were 31-40 years of age (55.3%) and worked for pharmacy chains (77.3%). Community pharmacists identified a higher proportion of enablers (positive force) (82.4%) relative to only 3 barriers (negative force) (17.6%). The barriers identified included insufficient private or semiprivate space for patient counseling, the paucity of invitations to participate in practice-based research, and lack of feedback regarding the results and recommendations of previous research in which they were participants. The significant predictors of self-perceived enablers and barriers were female gender (odds ratio [OR], 2.21; 95% CI, 1.25-3.91; P = 0.007) and age group of ≤40 years (OR, 4.74; 95% CI, 3.50-7.16; P = 0.006).

Conclusion: Community pharmacists' perceptions of the factors that enhance their effective management of minor ailments were overwhelmingly positive, as 14 enablers were identified relative to only 3 barriers. Female and young community pharmacists were significantly more likely to perceive enablers than barriers. The insights provided are potentially useful in developing pharmacy-based schemes to improve the effective management of minor ailments.