Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
50th ESCP Symposium on Clinical Pharmacy, Polypharmacy and ageing - highly individualized, interprofessional, person-centered care, Praha, Çek Cumhuriyeti, 19 - 21 Ekim 2022, cilt.44, ss.1500-1501
Disease and pharmacotherapy knowledge on Alzheimer’s Disease among community pharmacists: a cross-sectional study from Turkey
Background and Objective: Because of the increased prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), there is a significant need for qualified healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists able to provide maximum quality of care for those patients. There are scarce studies assessed the knowledge and attitudes toward AD among community pharmacists across different countries. The aim of this study was to assess and predict the AD knowledge among Turkish community pharmacists and to correlate the parameters that affect community pharmacists’ knowledge of AD in Istanbul, Turkey.
Method: This was descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted among a convenient sample size of community pharmacists in Istanbul, Turkey. Knowledge and pharmacotherapy management of AD were assessed via Google forms using a 43-item questionnaire consisting of 5-item demographic characteristics, 30-item knowledge about AD using a Turkish translated version of AD knowledge scale (ADKS), and 8-item drug knowledge questionnaire questionnaire about AD pharmacotherapy (KADT).
Main outcome measures: AD Knowledge using AD knowledge scale (ADKS), and drug knowledge about AD pharmacotherapy (KADT) questionnaire. Results: A total of 108 community pharmacists with an average age of 40.7 ± 12.9 years were included in this study. Majority of the respondents were females (66.7%), had Bachelor pharmacy degree (76%), had more than 10 years of work experience (57%), and had no previous AD training (86.1%). The participants reported a moderate level of knowledge towards AD, especially medically-oriented domains with no significant difference regarding the mean rate of ADKS domains (18.8 ± 2.8; P = 0.98). Nevertheless, they reported a good level of KADT knowledge about AD treatment (P = 0.01) about drug interactions (54.6%), and knowledge about proper information (79.6%). There was a statistically significant KADT difference correlated regarding male gender (P \0.001), those having Master degree (P = 0.05), more than 5 years of work experience (P = 0.04) and those pharmacists taking AD training courses (P = 0.05).
Conclusion: There is still a lack of knowledge regarding AD among Turkish community pharmacists reported by moderate ADKS score, especially medically-oriented domains, which creates a barrier to early provide care and preventing AD. Interventions should aim to raise awareness and strengthen pharmacists’ knowledge of AD to be particularly effective in improving the patients’ health.
Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.