Barriers to Practice of Pharmaceutical Care in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51983/ajsat-2022.11.2.3273Keywords:
Barriers, Pharmaceutical Care, Hospital PharmacistsAbstract
Pharmaceutical care continues to gain worldwide acceptance since its introduction over two decades ago. In Nigeria, a variety of forces is slowing down the implementation of pharmaceutical care in healthcare institutions. This study was carried out to determine the barriers to implementation of pharmaceutical care in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. These were achieved through the use of a prospective, cross-sectional study using a structured, pretested and self-administered questionnaire to 55 hospital pharmacists in Asaba in July 2018. The four-part Questionnaire evaluated demographics of respondents, knowledge of and reasons for not implementing pharmaceutical care and willingness to practice pharmaceutical care if perceived barriers were removed. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS Version 22. Descriptive and chi square statistics were obtained. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 55 questionnaires were administered to hospital pharmacists practicing at the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, in 2018. Fifty questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 90.9%. Majority (80.0%) were aged 21-30 years, there were more females (56.0%) than males, most were single (74.0%), a third (34.0%) were holders of the Doctor of Pharmacy degree, nearly half (42.0%) were in practice for less than one year. Barriers identified were difficulty in accessing patients clinical and laboratory data, lack of acceptance by physicians and nurses, lack of space, inadequate number of pharmacists, pharmaceutical care is not feasible without financial incentives, pharmaceutical care required too much time, lack of clinical knowledge, Pharmaceutical care required too much effort, and lack of communication skills. Analysis of sex versus respondents was significant for those who felt pharmaceutical care was not feasible without financial incentives. (c2 = 12.236, *P = 0.022) with female respondents taking the lead (56.0%). This study revealed barriers that are militating against the practice of pharmaceutical care in the study area. Concerted efforts to address these challenges that will involve the management of the hospital, update lectures, attitudinal change by pharmacists and introduction of remuneration for additional services rendered by pharmacists are recommended.
References
C. D. Hepler and L. M. Strand, "Opportunities and responsibilities in pharmaceutical care," American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, vol. 47, pp. 533-543, 1990.
S. S. Allemann et al., "Pharmaceutical care: the PCNE definition 2013," Int J Clin Pharm, vol. 36, pp. 544-555, 2014.
A. C. Oparah, Essentials of Pharmaceutical Care. A Cybex Publication, pp. 4-28, 2010.
R. K. Campbell, "Confronting barriers to Pharmaceutical Care," Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 410-412, 1998.
J. W. F. Van Mil, W. O. De Boer, and F.J. Tromp, "European barriers to the implementation of pharmaceutical care," IJPP, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 163-168, 2001.
J. R. May, "Barriers to pharmaceutical care in the acute setting," Am J Hosp Pharm, vol. 50, pp. 1608-1611, 1993.
P. O. Erah and J. C. Nwazuoke, "Identification of Standards for pharmaceutical care in Benin City," Trop J Pharm Res, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 55-66, 2002.
L. V. Minard et al., "Pharmacists Perceptions of the Barriers and Facilitators to the implementation of Clinical Pharmacy Key Performance Indicators," PLoS ONE, vol. 11, no. 4, 2016, e0152903. [Online]. Available: https://journals.plos.org, Accessed on 16th August 2018.
J. A. Dunlop and J. P. Shaw, "Community Pharmacists; perspectives on pharmaceutical care implementation in New Zealand," Pharm World Sci, vol. 24, pp. 224-230, 2002.
R. N. Okoro and B. F. Ibrahim, "Hospital Pharmacists Knowledge of Pharmaceutical Care in Maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria," Pharmacie Globale; Roorkee, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 1-5, 2012.
J. M. Okonta, E. O. Okonta, and T. C. Ofoegbu, "Barriers to implementation of Pharmaceutical Care by Pharmacists in Nsukka and Enugu Metropolis of Enugu State," Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 295-298, 2012.
B. A. Joseph and J. F. Eniojukun, "Attitude of pharmacists to the Pharmaceutical care concept in Rivers and Bayelsa States of Southern Nigeria," IOSR Journal of Pharmacy, vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 10-16, 2014.
K. C. Amibor, C. S. Onyegasi, and P. I. Ezeudu, "Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pharmaceutical Care among pharmacists in a state in Nigeria," African Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 22-31, 2018.
K. C. Amibor and C. Okonta, "Attitude and Practice of Community Pharmacists towards Pharmaceutical Care," Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics, vol. 9, no. 6-S, pp. 164-71, 2019.
C. Rossing, E. H. Hansen, and I. Krass, "Barriers and facilitators in pharmaceutical care: perceptions and experiences among Danish community pharmacists," J. Soc. Adm. Pharm, vol. 19, pp. 55-64, 2000.
C. C. Mmuo, O. C. Muoghalu, and C. G. Onyeka, "Challenges in the practice of Pharmaceutical Care in National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu," International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 207-212, 2013.
A. Awad, S. Al-Ebrahim, and E. Abahussain, "Pharmaceutical care services in hospitals of Kuwait," J Pharm Sci, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 10-18, 2006.
A. C. Oparah and A. E. Eferakeya, "Attitudes of Nigerian pharmacists towards pharmaceutical care," Pharmacy World and Science, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 208-214, 2005.
N. Surachat and C. L. Shu, "Thai pharmacists’ understanding, attitudes, and perceived barriers related to providing pharmaceutical care," American Journal of Health System Pharmacy, vol. 63, pp. 2144-2150, 2006.
M. S. El Hajj, H. S. AL-Saeed, and M. Khaja, "Qatar pharmacists’ understanding, attitudes, practice and perceived barriers related to providing pharmaceutical care," Int J Clin Pharm, vol. 38, pp. 330, 2016.
B. E. Ogbonna and A. C. Oparah, "Limitations to the dynamics of pharmaceutical practice among community pharmacists in Enugu urban, southeast Nigeria," Integrated Pharmacy Research and Practice, vol. 4, pp. 49-55, 2015.
B. G. Swift, "Barriers to pharmaceutical care in the home care setting," Am J Hosp Pharm, vol. 50, pp. 1611-1614, 1993.
N. Louie and N. Robertson, "Barriers to pharmaceutical care in the managed care setting," Am J Hosp Pharm, vol. 50, pp. 1614-1617, 1993.
H. U. Ma’Aji and S. I. Ondeku, "Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Community Pharmacists towards Pharmaceutical Care in Kaduna State, Nigeria," IJPTP, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 972-976, 2014.
I. A. Suleiman and O. Onaneye, "Pharmaceutical Care Implementation: A Survey of Attitude, Perception and Practice of Pharmacists in Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria," International Journal of Health Research, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 91-97, June 2011.
N. Sreellalitha et al., "Review of Pharmaceutical Care Services provided by the Pharmacists," International Research Journal of Pharmacy, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 78-79, 2012.
M. S. De Castro and C. J. Correr, "Pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies: practice and research in Brazil," The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, vol. 41, no. 9, pp. 1486-1493, 2007.
National Population Commission, Delta State. [Online]. Available: www.population.gov.ng, Accessed 15th September 2018.
About Asaba. [Online]. Available: https://asaba.com, Accessed 17th August 2018.
R. M. Ghazal et al., "Barriers to the implementation of Pharmaceutical care into the UAE community pharmacies," IOSR Journal of Pharmacy, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 68-74, 2014.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 The Research Publication
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
