Background:

Effective asthma management requires a multidisciplinary approach that includes; the physician, the patient, and the patient’s family.

Objectives:

The current study aimed to assess the roles played by community pharmacists toward asthma control together with the barriers hindering their practice and possible strategies to overcome those barriers.

Methods:

A multi-centered cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire adapted from previously conducted studies and customized to fit with the current study setup. The collected data was cleaned, coded, and entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 for analysis. Descriptive analysis of the collected data was conducted and the results were presented using frequency tables and graphs.

Results:

A total of 122 community pharmacy professionals; 63 from Gondar, 26 from Bahir Dar, 15 from Debre Markos, 14 from Woldia, and 4 from Debre birhan participated in the study. About 96 (78.7%) of the participants reported that they teach their patients the basic facts about asthma. More than two-thirds of the participants 85 (69.7%) also reported that they were able to identify and manage the triggering factors of asthma for their patients. Lack of pharmacist time was reported by 78 (63.9%) of the study participants as a major reason for the inadequacy of the counseling service provided.

Conclusion:

It appears evident that there is a need for continuing professional education and pharmacists to receive additional training to improve their ability to go beyond identifying a problem and suggesting therapeutic options.

中文翻译：

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社区药剂师在教育哮喘患者中的作用：埃塞俄比亚的一项多中心横断面研究。

背景：

有效的哮喘管理需要多学科的方法，包括：医生、患者和患者家属。

目标：

目前的研究旨在评估社区药剂师在哮喘控制方面的作用以及阻碍他们实践的障碍以及克服这些障碍的可能策略。

方法：

进行了多中心横断面研究。数据是使用结构化的、自我管理的问卷收集的，该问卷改编自以前进行的研究，并根据当前的研究设置进行了定制。对收集的数据进行清理、编码，并输入到社会科学统计包 (SPSS) 21 版中进行分析。对收集到的数据进行描述性分析，并使用频率表和图表呈现结果。

结果：

共有社区药学专业人员122人；63 名来自 Gondar，26 名来自 Bahir Dar，15 名来自 Debre Markos，14 名来自 Woldia，4 名来自 Debre birhan。大约 96 名 (78.7%) 的参与者报告说，他们向患者传授了有关哮喘的基本知识。超过三分之二的参与者 85 (69.7%) 还报告说，他们能够识别和管理患者哮喘的触发因素。78 名（63.9%）的研究参与者报告说药剂师时间不足是提供的咨询服务不足的主要原因。

结论：

很明显，需要继续专业教育和药剂师接受额外的培训，以提高他们超越识别问题和建议治疗方案的能力。