Journal of Patient Safety & Quality Improvement

Journal of Patient Safety & Quality Improvement

Community Pharmacists’ Practice Regarding Vitamin D Products: A Simulated Client Method

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ghader Mohammadnezhad 1
Melika Sattarpour 1
Masoud Azadi Kakavand 1
Hadi Esmaily 2
1 School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
10.22038/psj.2023.70523.1389
Abstract
Introduction: 
One common method to evaluate healthcare professionals' practice is to develop a simulated client (SC) scenario. The present study was designed to assess community pharmacists' practice level regarding vitamin D products by an SC method. 
Materials and Methods: 
Present study was a cross-sectional survey of 200 community pharmacists. SC scenario was designed and validated by an expert panel. The scenario consists of 22 questions to assess pharmacists' practice. This instrument includes four sections, demographic history taking, medical history taking, professional discipline, and clinical judgment, which are scored based on the 20-scoring system in each section. After data collection, an independent T-test was used to compare the mean ± standard deviation. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare median and percentiles for non-parametric variables. 
Results: 
The overall practice score was 19.03 ± 9.08 out of 80. The scores were 0.55 ± 1.43 for demographic history taking, 2.13 ± 2.32 for medical history taking, 10.54 ± 5.38 for discipline, and 5.75 ± 3.87 for clinical judgment. Results showed that the pharmacists' vitamin D practice was lower than expected. The main limitation of the current study was the crowdedness of some pharmacies.
Conclusion:
The SC survey results showed that Iranian community pharmacists received poor scores in technical and professional practice fields.
Keywords
community pharmacies
pharmaceutical services
client simulation
pharmacy practice
Subjects
  1. Faghih S, Abdolahzadeh M, Mohammadi M, Hasanzadeh J. Prevalence of vitamin d deficiency and its related factors among university students in shiraz, iran. International journal of preventive medicine. 2014 Jun;5(6):796.
  2. Tabrizi R, Moosazadeh M, Akbari M, Dabbaghmanesh MH, Mohamadkhani M, Asemi Z, Heydari ST, Akbari M, Lankarani KB. High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Iranian population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Iranian journal of medical sciences. 2018 Mar; 43(2):125.
  3. Kulie T, Groff A, Redmer J, Hounshell J, Schrager S. Vitamin D: an evidence-based review. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2009 Nov 1;22(6):698-706.
  4. Najmabadi S, Nojomi M. Nutritional supplement use among adults in different areas of west Tehran. Iranian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2010 Nov 10;12(4):365-75.
  5. Hashemipour S, Larijani B, Adibi H, Javadi E, Sedaghat M, Pajouhi M, Soltani A, Shafaei AR, Hamidi Z, Fard AR, Hossein-Nezhad A. Vitamin D deficiency and causative factors in the population of Tehran. BMC Public health. 2004 Dec;4(1):1-6.
  6. Naidu S, Wilkinson JM, Simpson MD. Attitudes of Australian pharmacists toward complementary and alternative medicines. Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2005 Sep;39(9):1456-61.
  7. Brown CM, Barner JC, Shah S. Community pharmacists' actions when patients use complementary and alternative therapies with medications. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. 2005 Jan 1;45(1):41-7.
  8. Calvo MS, Whiting SJ, Barton CN. Vitamin D intake: a global perspective of current status. The Journal of nutrition. 2005 Feb 1;135(2):310-6.
  9. Esmaily H, Saffaei A. Vitamin D usage among Iranian population: A toxicity crisis is on the way. Oman Medical Journal. 2019 Mar;34(2):174.
  10. Bhat JR, Geelani SA, Khan AA, Roshan R, Rathod SG. Vitamin D toxicity due to self-prescription: A case report. J Family Med Prim Care. 2022 Apr; 11(4):1561-1563. doi: 10.4103/ jfmpc. jfmpc_ 1525_21.
    11. Vieth R. Critique of Public Health Guidance for Vitamin D and Sun Exposure in the Context of Cancer and COVID-19. Anticancer Res. 2022 Oct; 42(10): 5027-5034. doi: 10. 21873/ anticanres. 16011.
  11. Braun LA, Tiralongo E, Wilkinson JM, Spitzer O, Bailey M, Poole S, Dooley M. Perceptions, use and attitudes of pharmacy customers on complementary medicines and pharmacy practice. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2010 Dec;10(1):1-7.
  12. Urbonas G, Kubilienė L. Assessing the relationship between pharmacists' job satisfaction and over-the-counter counselling at community pharmacies. International journal of clinical pharmacy. 2016 Apr;38(2):252-60.
  13. Cooper R. Surveillance and uncertainty: community pharmacy responses to over the counter medicine abuse. Health & social care in the community. 2013 May;21(3):254-62.
  14. Mehralian G, Yousefi N, Hashemian F, Maleksabet H. Knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacists regarding dietary supplements: a community pharmacy-based survey in Tehran. Iranian journal of pharmaceutical research: IJPR. 2014; 13(4):1457.
  15. Kwan D, Hirschkorn K, Boon H. US and Canadian pharmacists' attitudes, knowledge, and professional practice behaviors toward dietary supplements: a systematic review. BMC complementary and alternative medicine. 2006 Dec; 6(1):1-0.
  16. Shilbayeh SA. Exploring knowledge and attitudes towards counselling about vitamin supplements in Jordanian community pharmacies. Pharmacy Practice. 2011 Oct;9(4):242.
  17. Waddington F, Naunton M, Kyle G, Thomas J, Cooper G, Waddington A. A systematic review of community pharmacist therapeutic knowledge of dietary supplements. International journal of clinical pharmacy. 2015 Jun;37(3):439-46.
  18. Lewis KL, Bohnert CA, Gammon WL, Hölzer H, Lyman L, Smith C, Thompson TM, Wallace A, Gliva-McConvey G. The association of standardized patient educators (ASPE) standards of best practice (SOBP). Advances in Simulation. 2017 Dec; 2(1):1-8.
  19. Kippist C, Wong K, Bartlett D, Saini B. How do pharmacists respond to complaints of acute insomnia? A simulated patient study. International journal of clinical pharmacy. 2011 Apr; 33(2):237-45.
  20. Dabaghzadeh F, Hajjari R. Practice of community pharmacists related to multivitamin supplements: a simulated patient study in Iran. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy. 2018 Feb; 40(1):190-5.
  21. Hussain A, Ibrahim MI, Malik M. Assessment of disease management of insomnia at community pharmacies through simulated visits in Pakistan. Pharmacy practice. 2013 Oct;11(4):179.

 

Journal of Patient Safety & Quality Improvement
Volume 11, Issue 2
Spring 2023
Pages 73-80