Community pharmacist perception and attitude toward ethical issues at community pharmacy setting in central Saudi Arabia

Community pharmacist perception and attitude toward ethical issues at community pharmacy setting in central Saudi Arabia

Al-Arifi, Mohammed N.

2014/09/00

English

20140900

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify the community pharmacist perceptions and attitudes toward ethical issues at community pharmacy setting in Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and qualitative survey of community pharmacists was conducted and the survey questions were pre-tested by a pharmacist with extensive experience in ethical issues. Based on the result of a pilot study the questionnaire was used with some modifications and the final questionnaire was sent to the participants by handing over in person, mail or Email. Results: 45.7% Often discuss ethical issues with their patients, while only 2.1% never discuss it. 40.6% often record the ethical concern whereas only 1.9% of them never do so. 31.5% reported that patients initiate ethical issues. Discussion: 28.3% of the pharmacists initiate the discussion. The barriers that limit discussing ethical issues with their patients were lack of time due to other obligations assigned to the community pharmacist (69.2%), lack of reliable resources (10.7%), not interested in the subject (10.1%), lack of knowledge on ethical issues (4.8%), and other reasons (5.3%). Recourses are books (37.7%), internet web sites (31.1%), and brochures (26.8%). Only a minority of respondents had access to computer databases (15.8%) and other resources (1.3%). Most perceived ethical problems were: being asked for hormonal contraception, dispensing a drug for unreported indication (69.2%), dispensing dose of medicine for a child that is outside the SNF limits (68.9%), unwanted professional behavior about controlled drugs (66.6%), a colleague insisting on unethical behavior (65.0%), a colleague has done something unethical for the first time (64.7%), suspecting that a child is being abused (63.3%) prescribing on private scripts for suspected medications of possible abuse (60.7%) and terminally ill patient asks for a diagnosis or prognosis (52.9%). Conclusion: The findings of this study assured the need of Saudi health authorities to implement a code of ethics for pharmacy practicing to cover all aspects of ethical issues.

9.7

9.7;4.1.1

ethics--[pri];knowledge, attitudes, practices--[pri];pharmacists--[pri];professional ethics--[pri]

attitudes;drugs;professional patient relationship;qualitative research;questionnaire

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal2014 September; 22(4):315-325

Copyright © 2014 King Saud University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Open Access

citation

40 refs

13190164 (print);22137475 (online)