The availability of contraceptive methods in Turkish pharmacies and the status of pharmacies and pharmacists as providers of contraception

Abstract

Objectives

We aimed to assess pharmacists’ contraceptive knowledge and evaluate the contraceptives requested and sold in pharmacies.

Methods

A descriptive study was carried out in October 2016 in cooperation with the Chamber of Pharmacists of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Data were collected by questionnaire, and pharmacists’ total knowledge scores were calculated.

Results

The study comprised 101 participants, 86.1% of whom were women. Combined oral contraceptives were the most requested (97.0%) and supplied (94.1%) contraceptive method. The mean total knowledge score of pharmacists was 51.6 ± 12.9 (median 54.0, range 14.0–72.0). Among pharmacists, 51.5% said they had never received any training about contraception.

Conclusion

The results showed that pharmacists providing contraceptive counselling services need continuing in-service training. The current regulations on the duties and responsibilities of pharmacists in Turkey involve the provision of counselling about medication use. Effective training is suggested to provide better quality services in family planning/reproductive health care.

摘要

目标：我们旨在评估药剂师的避孕知识, 并评估药房避孕药的需求与售卖情况。

方法：2016年10月, 与土耳其伊斯坦布尔省药剂师会合作进行了一项描述性研究。通过问卷调查收集数据, 并计算药剂师的总得分。

结果：这项研究共101名参与者, 其中86.1％是女性。复方口服避孕药是需求最大（97.0％）和提供最多（94.1％）的避孕方法。药剂师的平均总得分为51.6±12.9（中位数54.0, 范围14.0-72.0）。在药剂师中, 有51.5％的人说他们从未接受过任何避孕方面的培训。

结论：结果表明, 需要对提供避孕咨询服务的药剂师进行持续的在职培训。土耳其关于药剂师职责和责任的现行法规涉及提供有关药物使用的咨询。为了提升计划生育/生殖保健方面的服务质量, 建议进行有效的培训。

Keywords:

• Counselling
• family planning methods
• fertility regulation
• knowledge
• pharmacist

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Istanbul Chamber of Pharmacists, in particular G. H. Özcömert Coşkun, as well as P. Tepe, C. Çıkıkçı, F. Temiz, G. Mardinoğlu and S. Soner (Marmara University, Istanbul), and all of the pharmacists who took part in the study.

Disclosure statement

The study did not receive any specific grant from any funding agencies. The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Notes

1 In this context, with the support and organisation of the Chamber of Pharmacists, a free and interactive training programme, ‘Current Developments in Contraception’, was organised in Istanbul for the study participants. Findings related to pre- and post-training will be presented in a future article.