| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2023 | Volume
: 2
| Issue : 1 | Page : 9-20 |
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A qualitative study of the knowledge, experiences, perceived roles, cultural barriers, and skills of community pharmacists dealing with Saudi Patients with asthma
Reem Alzayer
Clinical Pharmacy Practice Mohammed Al-Mana College for Medical Sciences, Abdulrazaq Bin Hammam Street, Al Safa, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Reem Alzayer
Clinical Pharmacy Practice Mohammed Al-Mana College for Medical Sciences, Abdulrazaq Bin Hammam Street, Al Safa, Dammam
Saudi Arabia
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/sjcp.sjcp_25_22
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Background: In Saudi Arabia, asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases. Previous studies have identified that asthma management can be influenced by patients’ cultural beliefs and levels of asthma education. Therefore, community pharmacists should have good knowledge of both asthma and Saudi cultural beliefs to be able to effectively educate Saudi patients. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore Saudi community pharmacists’ knowledge, experiences, and perspectives on providing care for Saudi patients with asthma. Materials and Methods: A qualitative method was employed to conduct semistructured interviews in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Community pharmacists were interviewed on the phone using an interview guide, and participants were recruited purposively. Verbatim transcripts of interviews were then thematically analyzed. Results: Analysis of 22 interviews resulted in five emergent themes: (1) lack of asthma knowledge among community pharmacists; (2) cultural and religious issues; (3) counseling issues; (4) patient medication issues and navigating the healthcare system; and (5) the need for asthma recourse and training. The findings indicate that community pharmacists have unsatisfactory levels of asthma knowledge and lack access to asthma guidelines in Saudi Arabia. It was also evident that the asthma management of Saudi patients was influenced by patients’ cultural and religious beliefs, which pharmacists needed to consider during patient counseling. Conclusions: Due to the lack of knowledge about asthma among our participants, there is an urgent need for asthma training. Furthermore, pharmacists should consider the impact of cultural issues on Saudi asthma patients to achieve better clinical outcomes. |
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