KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE OF PHARMACIST ABOUT COVID-19 IN SAUDI ARABIA

ABSTRACT

Midst to current Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the international pharmaceutical federation stated that pharmacists being a part of the healthcare system had a crucial role in the management cycle of COVID-19 outbreak. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacists working in various sector like hospital and community area, to snapshoot their current preparedness and awareness regarding COVID-19. A cross-section online survey was conducted between Oct to Dec 2020, during the lockdown stage. The data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The study instrument was designed by a team of authors after a rigorous literature review. The questionnaire was divided into 4 parts. The first part comprised of demographic information of the respondents. The second part identified the source of respondents' COVID-19 knowledge. The third part assessed the knowledge of pharmacist regarding COVID-19 in which Yes or No option was given against each set of question. The last part determined the perception and attitude of respondents towards COVID-19. Among 92 participants, 65.2% male and 34.8% female. 54.3% pharmacist worked in hospital with 53.3% of bachelor degree. 76.1% pharmacist received the information from ministry of health, Saudi Arabia. Most of the pharmacist had great knowledge with average percentage with 75%, the perception also observed as good with 90% of responses and the attitude also good with above 90% of responses. The hospital pharmacists had good knowledge, attitude and practice towards the COVID-19. The majority of the pharmacists perceived that they can play an important role in this pandemic. It is important for all the pharmacists to have standard authentic information about the COVID-19 and to further convey this knowledge and belief to the community. Future studies are required to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of other health workers and other segments of society.