Pharmacists’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Intervention for Prescription Medicines Abuse ()
ABSTRACT
Background: Abuse of medicines is becoming a serious problem in many
parts of the world, with negative consequences ranging from addiction,
psychosis, cardiovascular complications, and premature deaths from unintentional
overdose. In Pakistan, prescription drugs, which are misused or abused by some
patients, are often obtained from pharmacies. However, intervention for prescription
drugs misuse has not been tested in this setting. Objectives: The objective of
the study was to assess knowledge, perception and attitudes regarding
interventions towards the abuse of prescription medicines (PM) among practicing
pharmacists in Pakistan. Materials and Methods: This transversal study was
conducted from June to September 2015 by adopting a pre validated questionnaire
distributed to practicing pharmacists in different private and public sector
hospitals of Karachi. Descriptive statistics were used to demonstrate participants’
demographic information and their response to the questionnaire items. Pearson’s
chi-squared test was executed to evaluate the association of gender, age, organization,
and experience of pharmacists with their response. A p value < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: The study
revealed that mass population 75% claimed that they had adequate knowledge of
prescription medicine abuse. 81.25% perceived drug abuse as a problem and
88.10% considered that the role of pharmacist was very important in prevention
of PM abuse. However pharmacists were not confident that patients would take
their advice, respond positively and make needed behavior changes. Respondents
also were not confident regarding the manner in which screenings and
interventions should occur. Conclusion: Findings from this study will assist
health authorities to formulate appropriate health promotion interventions to
control and prevent abuse of prescription medicines. Actions directed at early
intervention, capacity building, education, public health initiatives and law
enforcements will hopefully curb the menace of PM abuse.
Share and Cite:
Shakeel, S. , Iffat, W. , Ibrahim, S. and Imam, S. (2015) Pharmacists’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Intervention for Prescription Medicines Abuse.
Open Access Library Journal,
2, 1-6. doi:
10.4236/oalib.1102036.