Medication Counseling Practices in Medicine Retail Outlets Found in Bench Sheko Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region, South West Ethiopia

Figures & data

Table 1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Pharmacy Professionals

Variables	Classification	Frequency	Percent
Age	25–29	40	38.1
	30–34	27	35.2
	35–39	21	20
	>40	27	6.7
Sex	Male	88	83.8
	Female	17	16.2
Educational qualification	Pharmacist	28	26.7
	Health assistant	7	6.7
	Druggist	70	66.7
Experience	1–5yrs	12	11.4
	6–10yrs	63	60.0
	11–15yrs	19	18.1
	>15yrs	11	10.5
Average hours spent	<28hrs	6	5.7
	28–42hrs	16	15.2
	42–56hrs	33	31.4
	>56hrs	50	47.6
Drug retail open days per week	5days	8	7.6
	6days	20	19.0
	7days	77	73.3
Having assistance in drug retail outlet	Yes	94	89.5
	No	11	10.5

Table 2 Pharmacy Professionals’ Observed Activities in Providing Medicine Information

Variables Classifications		Frequency	Percent
Prescriptions dispensed per week	<100	28	26.7
	100–500	39	37.1
	501–1000	24	22.9
	1001–1500	7	6.7
	>1501	7	6.7
Place medicine information provided	In private area	72	68.6
	In semi-private area	24	22.9
	In a non-private area	9	8.6
Preferred medication counselling methods	Verbal	15	14.3
	Written	6	5.7
	Both verbal and written	84	80
Reasons for delivering verbal information only	The pharmacy is too busy	70	66.7
	The consumer is not interested	22	21.0
	Verbal information is sufficient	13	12.4
Average time spent on counselling	<1minute	12	11.4
	1–2minutes	51	48.6
	2–5minutes	26	24.8
	>5minutes	16	15.2

Table 3 The List of Questions Used in the Study

No.	Questions
Q1	Average time in minutes spent for provision of verbal information per prescription
Q2	Explaining the purpose/importance of counseling to patients
Q3	Ask the patient what the prescriber has told them about drug and how they understood
Q4	Ask patients if they have a problem in taking drugs as prescribed
Q5	Tell the patient when due back to refill and number of fills needed when necessary
Q6	Emphasize the benefits of the medicine
Q7	Ask a woman if she is pregnant or not
Q8	Explain what if he/she misses a dose
Q9	Listen to patient carefully and respond with appropriate empathy
Q10	Ask patient if they any concern or question
Q11	Ask the patient if they have time to discuss

Table 4 Basic Drug Information Delivered to the Patients by Pharmacy Professionals in Drug Retail Outlets

Basic Drug Information	Observed Outcome	Frequency	Percent
Q2	Yes	90	85.7
	No	15	14.3
Q3	Yes	91	86.7
	No	14	13.3
Q4	Yes	88	83.8
	No	17	16.2
Q5	Yes	88	83.8
	No	17	16.2
Q6	Yes	94	89.5
	No	11	10.5
Q7	Yes	96	91.4
	No	9	8.6
Q8	Yes	90	85.7
	No	15	14.3
Q9	Yes	100	95.2
	No	5	4.8
Q10	Yes	90	85.7
	No	15	14.3
Q11	Yes	90	85.7
	No	15	14.3

Table 5 Components of Counseling Practice Among Pharmacy Professionals in Medicine Retail Outlets of Bench-Sheko Zone

Components of Counselling	Always N (%)	Often N (%)	Sometimes N (%)	Rarely N (%)	Never N (%)
Name of the drug	56 (53.3)	12(11.4)	25 (23.8)	7 (6.7)	5(4.8)
Frequency administration	90 (85.7)	2 (1.9)	7 (6.7)	3 (2.9)	3 (2.9)
Proper storage condition	71 (67.6)	11 (10.5)	21 (20)	1(1)	1(1)
Drug interaction	45 (42.9)	12 (11.4)	25 (23.8)	15 (14.3)	8(7.6)
Dosage form	70(66.7)	5 (4.8)	20 (19)	6(5.7)	4 (3.8)
Adverse drug reaction	27 (25.7)	14 (13.3)	40(38.1)	19(18.1)	5 (4.8)
Dose	86(81.9)	4 (3.8)	13 (12.4)	1(1)	1(1)
Duration of treatment	90(85.7)	2 (1.9)	9(8.6)	3(2.9)	1 (1)
Contraindication	55 (52.4)	20 (19)	14 (13.3)	14 (13.3)	2 (1.9)

Table 6 Conditions Given Special Attention During Medication Counselling by Pharmacy Professionals

Conditions		Frequency	Percent
Patients given special attention for counselling	Pregnant	35	33.3
	Epileptic patients	5	4.8
	Terminally ill	7	6.7
	Asthmatic	13	12.4
	Diabetes mellitus	17	16.2
	Tuberculosis	6	5.7
	Hypertensive	13	12.4
	Patients taking drugs which alcohol is contraindicated	5	4.8
	Patients taking anticoagulants	4	3.8
Additional information for patients taking drugs	Drugs under active surveillance by EFDA*	14	13.3
	Drugs with prominent side effect	37	35.2
	Drugs with additional warning label	21	20.0
	Drugs with special storage conditions	26	24.8
	Drugs with complicated direction	7	6.7

Abbreviation: *EFDA, Ethiopian Food and Drug Administration.

Table 7 Statistical Test (One-Way Analysis of Variance) of Factors Associated with the Components of Counseling Practice and Independent Variables Among Pharmacy Professionals in Medicine Retail Outlets of Bench-Sheko Zone

Variable	Class	Name of Drug	Route of Administration of Drug	Dose of Drug	Frequency Administration of Drug	Proper Storage of Drug	Drug Interaction	Contraindication	Type of Dosage Form	Adverse Effect of Drug	Duration Treatment
		Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean
Age	25–29	1.93	1.38	1.35	1.45	1.48	2.23	1.95	1.95	2.80	1.20
	30–34	1.65	1.05	1.38	1.24	1.49	2.43	1.84	1.41	2.54	1.27
	35–39	2.05	1.00	1.00	1.05	1.57	2.24	1.86	1.67	2.38	1.29
	>40	3.86	2.71	2.29	2.29	2.57	2.57	2.57	2.71	2.86	2.29
	p-value	0.000	0.000	0.003	0.016	0.024	0.861	0.495	0.025	0.536	0.012
Sex	Male	1.94	1.22	1.30	1.32	1.57	2.25	1.93	1.69	2.64	1.28
	Female	2.18	1.59	1.65	1.53	1.59	2.71	1.94	2.06	2.59	1.47
	p-value	0.472	0.098	0.101	0.399	0.934	0.206	0.976	0.242	0.879	0.396
Time spent	<28hrs	4.33	3.00	2.50	2.50	3.17	4.00	4.00	3.33	4.33	3.00
	28–42hrs	2.06	1.25	1.25	1.38	1.63	2.31	2.75	1.88	3.13	1.19
	42–56hrs	1.82	1.00	1.24	1.24	1.39	2.15	1.67	1.36	2.55	1.18
	>56hrs	1.78	1.26	1.32	1.28	1.48	2.24	1.60	1.78	2.32	1.24
	p-value	0.000	0.000	0.004	0.019	0.000	0.017	0.000	0.001	0.000	0.000
Experience	1–5yrs	2.33	1.67	1.50	1.50	2.00	2.92	2.25	1.92	3.67	1.50
	6–10yrs	1.86	1.25	1.37	1.38	1.49	2.29	1.83	1.62	2.52	1.37
	11–15yrs	1.95	1.16	1.21	1.16	1.53	2.16	1.95	1.95	2.37	1.05
	>15yrs	2.36	1.18	1.36	1.36	1.64	2.18	2.18	2.00	2.55	1.27
	p-value	0.435	0.383	0.805	0.766	0.357	0.437	0.597	0.567	0.012	0.43
Number of prescription	<100	1.89	1.14	1.36	1.32	1.43	2.32	1.54	1.86	2.57	1.25
	100–500	1.90	1.33	1.26	1.36	1.72	2.33	2.18	1.92	2.79	1.28
	501–1000	1.88	1.00	1.29	1.04	1.29	2.17	1.88	1.21	2.33	1.17
	1001–1500	2.14	1.00	1.00	1.57	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.57	1.86	1.00
	>1501	3.00	2.71	2.43	2.29	2.86	4.14	3.29	2.43	3.71	2.57
	p-value	0.237	0.000	0.005	0.038	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.066	0.022	0.001
Counselling area	In private area	1.89	1.17	1.28	1.29	1.49	2.07	1.83	1.56	2.56	1.21
	In semi-private area	1.88	1.21	1.29	1.21	1.63	2.83	2.04	1.71	2.58	1.21
	In a non-private	3.00	2.33	2.11	2.22	2.11	3.00	2.44	3.44	3.33	2.44
	p-value	0.03	0.000	0.012	0.012	0.142	0.015	0.297	0.000	0.176	0.000
Preferred counselling method	Verbal	2.33	1.53	1.73	1.47	2.00	2.60	2.27	2.20	2.93	1.80
	Written	2.17	1.67	2.00	1.33	1.33	2.33	2.33	2.33	3.00	1.33
	Both	1.90	1.20	1.24	1.33	1.51	2.27	1.85	1.63	2.55	1.23
	p-value	0.426	0.195	0.011	0.881	0.127	0.696	0.305	0.103	0.378	0.044
Reason for verbal only	Pharmacy is too busy	1.96	1.20	1.36	1.33	1.47	2.36	1.90	1.74	2.67	1.13
	Consumer is not interested	2.05	1.27	1.23	1.32	1.55	1.86	1.95	1.50	2.41	1.32
	Verbal sufficient	2.00	1.69	1.54	1.54	2.15	2.92	2.08	2.23	2.77	2.31
	p-value	0.956	0.159	0.548	0.751	0.043	0.076	0.88	0.206	0.603	0.000

Notes: Significant at p<0.05; Values in bold indicate statistically significant results.

Table 8 Statistical Test (One-Way Analysis of Variance) of Factors Associated with the Activities of Counseling Practice and Independent Variables Among Pharmacy Professionals in Medicine Retail Outlets of Bench-Sheko Zone

Variables	Class	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Q6	Q7	Q8	Q9	Q10	Q11
		Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean
Age	25–29	2.38	1.13	1.03	1.10	1.18	1.00	1.05	1.13	1.00	1.15	1.10
	30–34	2.78	1.14	1.14	1.24	1.08	1.22	1.05	1.08	1.05	1.16	1.16
	35–39	2.14	1.10	1.24	1.05	1.19	1.00	1.10	1.19	1.00	1.00	1.05
	>40	1.86	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.57
	p-value	0.009	0.162	0.009	0.034	0.133	0.000	0.008	0.098	0.000	0.039	0.004
Sex	Male	2.49	1.13	1.11	1.17	1.16	1.08	1.08	1.11	1.03	1.14	1.14
	Female	2.18	1.24	1.24	1.12	1.18	1.24	1.12	1.29	1.12	1.18	1.18
	p-value	0.185	0.238	0.18	0.593	0.86	0.056	0.612	0.052	0.141	0.669	0.669
Time spent	<28hrs	2.00	1.67	1.67	1.50	1.67	1.50	1.67	1.67	1.50	1.50	1.50
	28–42hrs	2.19	1.06	1.19	1.19	1.38	1.00	1.13	1.25	1.13	1.38	1.19
	42–56hrs	2.64	1.09	1.09	1.09	1.09	1.21	1.06	1.06	1.00	1.09	1.12
	>56hrs	2.44	1.14	1.08	1.16	1.08	1.02	1.02	1.10	1.00	1.06	1.10
	p-value	0.224	0.001	0.000	0.096	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.001	0.06
Experience	1–5yrs	1.92	1.33	1.25	1.42	1.33	1.16	1.25	1.42	1.17	1.25	1.42
	6–10yrs	2.52	1.14	1.10	1.13	1.08	1.33	1.10	1.11	1.03	1.14	1.10
	11–15yrs	2.63	1.11	1.16	1.05	1.26	1.10	1.00	1.05	1.00	1.00	1.16
	>15yrs	2.18	1.00	1.18	1.27	1.27	1.00	1.00	1.18	1.09	1.27	1.09
	p-value	0.085	0.134	0.48	0.028	0.041	0.028	0.071	0.025	0.141	0.123	0.031
Number of prescription	<100	2.50	1.18	1.18	1.07	1.18	1.21	1.04	1.07	1.00	1.07	1.14
	100–500	2.46	1.08	1.10	1.26	1.13	1.00	1.08	1.13	1.05	1.21	1.15
	501–1000	2.33	1.08	1.00	1.08	1.13	1.04	1.08	1.08	1.00	1.04	1.00
	1001–1500	3.14	1.14	1.14	1.00	1.14	1.14	1.00	1.14	1.00	1.14	1.00
	>1501	1.71	1.57	1.57	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.43	1.71	1.43	1.43	1.71
	p-value	0.045	0.01	0.002	0.033	0.375	0.001	0.015	0.000	0.000	0.058	0.000
Counselling area	In private area	2.49	1.11	1.11	1.18	1.17	1.10	1.06	1.13	1.01	1.11	1.17
	In semi-private area	2.58	1.21	1.08	1.08	1.13	1.08	1.08	1.17	1.08	1.21	1.04
	In a non-private	1.67	1.22	1.44	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.33	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
	p-value	0.02	0.395	0.014	0.476	0.786	0.484	0.019	0.69	0.013	0.395	0.252
Preferred counselling method	Verbal	2.47	1.27	1.20	1.20	1.13	1.20	1.20	1.20	1.13	1.20	1.27
	Written	2.50	1.33	1.17	1.17	1.33	1.17	1.17	1.33	1.17	1.17	1.17
	Both	2.43	1.11	1.12	1.15	1.15	1.08	1.06	1.12	1.02	1.13	1.12
	p-value	0.974	0.105	0.683	0.91	0.499	0.356	0.158	0.283	0.069	0.774	0.324
Reason for verbal only	Pharmacy is too busy	2.59	1.09	1.10	1.13	1.16	1.11	1.03	1.07	1.03	1.13	1.11
	Consumer is not interested	2.18	1.23	1.14	1.27	1.18	1.05	1.05	1.27	1.05	1.14	1.23
	Verbal sufficient	2.08	1.31	1.31	1.15	1.15	1.15	1.46	1.31	1.15	1.23	1.15
	p-value	0.05	0.049	0.131	0.282	0.961	0.549	0.000	0.011	0.153	0.631	0.422

Notes: Significant at p<0.05; Values in bold indicate statistically significant results.