Community pharmacists' interest in and attitude to pharmacy practice research in Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

PLoS One. 2017 Jun 15;12(6):e0178919. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178919. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Pharmacy practice-research became an important component in the pharmacy practice. However, limited studies were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa to understand the pharmacists' interest and attitude towards pharmacy practice-research. We aimed to assess the community pharmacists' interest and attitude towards pharmacy practice-research in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among community pharmacists in eight major cities in Ethiopia. A validated 25-item self-administered questionnaire covering interest and attitude related to pharmacy practice-research was distributed. Responses were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A total of 389 community pharmacists responded to the survey (response rate- 88.4%). Most of community pharmacists showed a high level of interest and positive attitude in being involved in all aspects of pharmacy practice-research. The median summary score for interest and attitude were 38 (IQR 20-40) (range possible 10-50) and 30 (IQR 18-39), respectively. Sixty-seven percent of the respondents thought about being involved in research, felt research is important for their career (57.6%), confident to conduct the research (56.2%), and agreed that research is a part of pharmacy practice (48.5%). However, only forty-six percent agreed that they underwent research training. A multivariate analysis showed that females were more interested in pharmacy practice research than males [AOR: 1.50, 95% CI: 0.99-2.27; p<0.05]. Community pharmacists showed high interest towards several areas of research competencies and demonstrated positive attitude towards pharmacy practice-research. Our findings suggest that providing research training to community pharmacists may contribute in undertaking research activities and build the research capacity in Ethiopia.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attitude of Health Personnel
  • Community Pharmacy Services*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Ethiopia
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pharmacists / psychology*
  • Pharmacy Research / methods*
  • Professional Role
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Workforce
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

No financial funds were gained to conduct this study. Addis Pharmaceutical Factory, Adigrat, Ethiopia provided support in the form of salary for one author [CTN], but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of this author are articulated in the "author contributions" section.