Patients’ Perceptions on Community Pharmacy Services of a Ward (10) of Kathmandu Metropolitan

Figures & data

Table 1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

Variables	Options	Percentages (%)
Age(in years)	18–29	52.5
	30–49	34.2
	50 and above	13.3
Gender	Male	47.5
	Female	52.5
Religion	Hindu	97
	Muslim	0.2
	Buddhist	1.2
	Christian	0.5
	Others	1
Ethnicity	Janajati	15
	Madheshi	3.2
	Dalit	0.7
	Bhramin/chhetri	77.1
	Muslim	0.2
	Others	3.7
Marital status	Married	55.7
	Unmarried	43.3
	Divorced	0.2
	Widowed	0.7
	Separated	0
Highest education level	Can read and write	3.2
	Informal education	1.7
	Primary level (up to class v)	1.2
	Secondary level (up to +2)	21.2
	Bachelor level	43.1
	Masters level and above	29.6
Occupation	Housewife	7.4
	Agriculture	1
	Business	8.1
	Job holder	47.3
	Student	33
	Unemployed	3.2

Table 2 Image of Patients Towards Community Pharmacists

Image of Community Pharmacists	Responses (Percentages)
Are primarily business people who are more concerned with making money than with the health of their patients	11.8
Are interested in both health and business matters but tend to be more concerned with the business side of things than health matters	18.5
Have a good balance between health and business matters	30.5
Are more concerned with the health of patients than with the business side of their work	10.1
Are health professionals who know a lot about drugs but are concerned about, and committed to, caring for the public	29.1

Table 3 First Contact Person by Respondents

Persons	Percentages
Family/friends	19.9
Physician	31.7
Pharmacist	43.8
Other	2.7
Nurse	1.7

Table 4 Patients’expectation About Community Pharmacists’role

Statements	Responses					P-value
	Total Number of Participants (n=406)
	Strongly Agree	Agree	Neutral or I do not Know	Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Gender	Religion	Marital Status	Highest Education Level	Occupation
	N(%)	N(%)	N(%)	N(%)	N(%)
Initiate dialogue with me or with my physician, when necessary to obtain a sufficiently detailed medication history;	101(24.9)	232(57.1)	59(14.5)	9(2.2)	5(1.2)	0.767	0.003	0.695	0.054	0.301
Counsel me about my disease	171 (42.1)	156(38.4)	63(15.5)	12(3)	4(1)	0.125	0.054	0.156	0.004	0.004
Counsel me about the main side effects of my medications and how to avoid them and about their potential interactions with other medicines	127(31.3)	175(43.1)	74(18.3)	23(5.7)	7(1.7)	0.767	0.382	0.653	0.002	0.001
Counsel me about the directions for the use of medications	193(47.5)	165(40.6)	45(11.1)	2(0.5)	1(0.2)	0.181	0.302	0.708	0.059	0.001
Counsel me about the medications’action and indication	129(31.8)	197(48.5)	65(16)	13(3.2)	2(0.5)	0.189	0.793	0.65	0.1999	0.172
Monitor my health’s progress to ensure the safe and effective use of medications	115(28.3)	166(40.9)	96(23.6)	23(5.7)	6(1.5)	0.103	0.557	0.551	0.021	0.127
Help me in selecting a home diagnostic, an over-The-counter medication or a para-pharmaceutical product, eg, baby care, hair products, cosmetics, etc	93(22.9)	185(45.6)	94(23.1)	22(5.4)	12(3)	0.535	0.572	0.596	0.111	0.215
Answer my drug-related questions	144(35.5)	196(48.3)	56(13.8)	8(2.0)	2(0.5)	0.195	0.225	0.854	0.378	0.557
Counsel and advise me on the treatment of minor ailments; for example, headache, heartburn, constipation, muscle pain, minor skin problems etc	130(32.0)	196(48.3)	65(16)	14(3.4)	1(0.2)	0.051	0.087	0.806	0.576	0.064
Check my prescriptions for accuracy in terms of drug name and dose	155(38.2)	180(44.3)	59(14.5)	10(2.5)	2(0.5)	0.727	0.959	0.783	0.068	0.687
Label my medications	127(31.3)	199(49)	65(17)	12(3)	3(0.7)	0.478	0.05	0.738	0.235	0.133
Perform proper screening and monitoring for specific health conditions and diseases	118(29.1)	167(41.1)	86(21.2)	26(6.4)	9(2.2)	0.185	0.228	0.410	0.140	0.206

Notes: A p-value is a statistical measurement used to validate a hypothesis against observed data. A p-value less than 0.05 is typically considered to be statistically significant (bold, underlined) whereas a p-value greater than 0.05 means that it is not statistically significant.

Table 5 Patients Most Desired Qualities of Pharmacists

Qualities of Pharmacist	Percentages
Knowledge about medications and diseases	70.1
Honesty and professionalism	47.2
Good communication skills	40.5
Willingness to offer advice and to answer any drug or disease-related question	55.1

Table 6 Frequency of Pharmacy Visit

Frequency of Pharmacy Visit	Percentages
Every few months	43.1
Once per year	21.9
Once or more per week	11.1
2–3 times per month	23.9

Table 7 Reasons for Visiting Community Pharmacies

Reasons for Visiting a Community Pharmacy	Percentages
Ask for advice	38.9
Get medications without prescription	40.1
Get prescription medications	44.8
Get first aid information	21.4
Get general health information	26.4
Get home diagnostic devices	13.5

Figure 1 Patients’ perceived barriers for asking the question to the pharmacist.

Figure 2 Factor influencing choice of particular pharmacy.

Table 8 Patients’extent of Agreement with Positive Statements Regarding the Public Views of the Community Pharmacy Services

Statements	Responses					P-value
	Total Number of Participants (n=406)
	Strongly Agree	Agree	Neutral or I do not Know	Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Gender	Religion	Marital Status	Highest Education Level	Occupation
	N(%)	N(%)	N(%)	N(%)	N(%)
When I am in the pharmacy, I feel totally at ease about asking the pharmacist for advice	97(23.9)	216(53.2)	76(18.7)	14(3.4)	3(0.7)	0.545	0.000	0.784	0.466	0.333
When I am buying my prescription medications, the pharmacist hands me my prescriptions, provides me with through medication counselling and encourages me to ask questions	90(22.2)	190(46.8)	96(23.6)	24(5.9)	6(1.5)	0.360	0.031	0.030	0.092	0.885
When I am buying my prescription medications, privacy concerning my prescriptions is maintained by the pharmacist	85(20.9)	196(48.3)	91(22.4)	29(7.1)	5(1.2)	0.302	0.005	0.282	0.169	0.005
When I go to the pharmacy with a problem the pharmacist gives me enough time to discuss my problem and listens to me carefully	87(21.4)	158(38.9)	110(27.1)	42(10.3)	9(2.2)	0.718	0.243	0.404	0.189	0.005
When I go to the pharmacy to ask any drug related question, the pharmacist is knowledgeable enough and always ready to answer my questions	91(22.4)	197(48.5)	90(22.2)	21(5.2)	7(1.7)	0.853	0.000	0.750	0/079	0.188

Notes: A p-value is a statistical measurement used to validate a hypothesis against observed data. A p-value less than 0.05 is typically considered to be statistically significant (bold, underlined) whereas, a p-value greater than 0.05 means that it is not statistically significant.

Abbreviations: WHO, World Health Organization, FIP, International Pharmaceutical Federation, SPSS, Statistical Package for Social Sciences.

Figure 3 Patients’ current level of satisfaction with the community pharmacy services.

Figure 4 Services patients’ like to see provided in community pharmacies.

Figure 5 Products patients’ like to see provided in community pharmacies.