Community pharmacists' assessment of the factors that influence the recommendation of complementary medicines in Lagos State, Nigeria: a pilot study
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: Individuals are now more proactive about their healthcare and complementary medicines (CMs) are usually utilized for self-care. They are widely sold in community pharmacies in Nigeria.
Objectives: This study evaluated the factors that influence the recommendation of complementary medicines by community pharmacists.
Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive survey was carried out in three community pharmacy zones in Lagos State. Data were analyzed with the IBM Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0 (IBM Corp, Version 20.0, Armonk, NY, USA) with statistical significance set at p ≤ 0.05.
Results: Most of the respondents were below 30 years of age (45.5%), male (61.8%), recent graduates (76.4%), had only an undergraduate degree (61.8%) with less than 10 years of community pharmacy experience (81.8%). Only 43.6% had overall adequate knowledge of CMs. Many (98.2%) agreed that knowledge about CMs is important to them as practicing pharmacists. About 91% reported that they will not recommend a CM that has no evidence of safety. Only 40% of the respondents agreed that their undergraduate pharmacy training equipped them to be providers of information on CMs. Those who stocked CMs in their community pharmacies had better knowledge scores than those who did not (P = 0.033).
Conclusion: Community pharmacists in some zones in Lagos State, Nigeria had poor knowledge about complementary medicines. This served as a major barrier to their recommendation of these medicines. Community pharmacists should engage in continuing education programmes and the undergraduate curriculum should be reviewed to produce better equipped professionals in this regard.
Downloads
Article Details
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Hwee-Ling K, Hui-Ling N, Hsiao-Huei T (2004). A survey on knowledge, attitudes and usage of complementary and alternative medicine in
Singapore. Asia-Pacific Biotech News. 8(23):1266-1270.
World Health Organization (WHO) (2014). General guidelines for methodologies on research and evaluation of traditional medicine. Available at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2000/WHO_EDM_TRM_2000.1.pdf. Accessed May 20, 2014.
Oshikoya KA, Oreagba IA, Ogunleye OO, Oluwa R, Senbanjo IO, Olayemi SO (2013). Herbal medicines supplied by community pharmacies in Lagos, Nigeria: pharmacists' knowledge. Pharmacy Practice. 11(4):219-227.
Miller LG, Hume A, Harris IM, Jackson EA, Kanmaz TJ, Cauffield JS, Chin TWF, Knell M (2000). White paper on herbal products. Pharmacotherapy. 20(7):877-891.
Oshikoya KA, Senbanjo IO, Njokanma OF, Soipe A (2008). Use of complementary and alternative medicines for children with chronic health conditions in Lagos, Nigeria. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2008; 8:66. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-8-66.
Adisa R, Fakeye T (2006). Assessment of the knowledge of community pharmacists regarding common phytopharmaceuticals sold in South
Western Nigeria. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. 5(2):619-625.
Alkharfy KM (2010). Community pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes and practices towards herbal remedies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. East Mediterranean Health Journal. 16(9):988-993.
Hepler CD, Strand LM (1990). Opportunities and responsibilities in pharmaceutical care. American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy. 47(3):533-543.
Culverhouse SE, Wohlmuth H (2012). Factors affecting pharmacists' recommendation of complementary medicines – aqualitative pilot study of Australian pharmacists. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 12:183.
Abahussain NA, Abahussain EA, Al-Oumi FM (2007). Pharmacists' attitudes and awareness towards the use and safety of herbs in Kuwait. Pharmacy Practice (Granada). 5(3):125-129.
Fahmy SA, Abdu S, Abuelkhair M (2010). Pharmacists' attitude, perceptions and knowledge towards the use of herbal products in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates'. Pharmacy Practice (Granada). 8(2):109-115.
Lin H-W, Pickard S, Mahady GB, Karabatsos G, Crawford SY, Popovich NG (2010). An instrument to evaluate pharmacists' patient counseling on herbal and dietary supplements. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 2010; 74(10): article 192.
Duraz AY, Khan SA (2011). Knowledge, attitudes and awareness of community pharmacists towards the use of herbal medicines in Muscat region. Oman Medical Journal. 26(6):451-453.
Bushett NJ, Dickson-Swift VA, Willis JA, Wood P (2011). Rural Australian community pharmacists' views on complementary and alternative medicine: a pilot study. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 11:103.
Clauson K, McQueen C, Shields K, Bryant P (2003). Knowledge and attitudes of pharmacists in Missouri regarding natural products. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 67: article 41.
National Population Commission of Nigeria (NPC) 2016. Available at: http://www.population.gov.ng Accessed May 21, 2016.
Obinna C (2015). Herbal medicines must be scientifically evaluated, says NAFDAC. The Vanguard. September 2, 2015. Available at:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/herbalmedicines-must-be-scientifically-evaluated-saysnafdac. Accessed June 12, 2016.
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) (2016). Available at:
http://www.nafdac.gov.ng/index.php/guidelines/ herbal-guidelines. Accessed June 12, 2016.
Naidu S, Wilkinson JM, Simpson MD. Attitudes of Australian pharmacists toward complementary and alternative medicines (2005). The Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 39(9):1456-1461.
Semple SJ, Hotham E, Rao D, Martin K, Smith CA, Bloustien GF (2006). Community pharmacists in Australia: barriers to information provision on complementary and alternative medicines. Pharmacy World and Science. 28(6):366-373.
Sweileh WM, Abu Arrah EM, Abu Taha AS, Sawalha AF, Salah OA, Jamous RM, Adawi D (2013). Dispensing practices, attitudes and knowledge of pharmacists towards herbal products in Palestine. Ibnosina Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. 5(3):123-130.