An investigation of the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelines
Background: Fever and pain are common conditions in the Australian healthcare setting. Whilst clinical guidelines provide important therapeutic recommendations, evidence suggests they are not always followed. Given that community pharmacy is one of the most frequently accessed primary healthcare ser...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Centro de Investigaciones y Publicaciones Farmaceuticas
2019-06-01
|
| Series: | Pharmacy Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.pharmacypractice.org/journal/index.php/pp/article/view/1436/719 |
| _version_ | 1818135168811008000 |
|---|---|
| author | Mishriky J Stupans I Chan V |
| author_facet | Mishriky J Stupans I Chan V |
| author_sort | Mishriky J |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Fever and pain are common conditions in the Australian healthcare setting. Whilst clinical guidelines provide important therapeutic recommendations, evidence suggests they are not always followed. Given that community pharmacy is one of the most frequently accessed primary healthcare services, it is important to understand the views and practices of community pharmacists in pain and fever.
Objectives: To investigate the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists in pain and fever management, and their views on relevant clinical guidelines.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of community pharmacists in Australia was conducted using a customised, anonymous, self-administered, online questionnaire between March and May 2018. To capture a broad range of demographics, pharmacists were recruited via local industry contacts and the Pharmaceutical Society newsletter, with further recruitment through snowball sampling. The main outcomes measured were pharmacists’ views, practices and treatment recommendation of choice in pain and fever management, as well as views on clinical guidelines and training.
Results: A total of 113 pharmacists completed the survey. In general, paracetamol (72%) was preferred as a recommendation over ibuprofen, and was the drug of choice for most mild to moderate pain and fever scenarios. Majority of pharmacists reported good knowledge of pain and fever management, however, only approximately half reported recent pain management training. Greater than 87% of pharmacists believe that clinical guidelines are useful in fever management, and 79% of pharmacists believe that following clinical guidelines is important in pain management.
Conclusions: While most pharmacists recognise the importance of guidelines and demonstrated good pain and fever management, results suggests opportunities to promote additional education, upskilling, and research in this space to further optimise pain and fever management in the community. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:20:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-963e2aefaece4846a357f032515d354c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1885-642X 1886-3655 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:20:14Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | Centro de Investigaciones y Publicaciones Farmaceuticas |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmacy Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-963e2aefaece4846a357f032515d354c2022-12-22T01:13:17ZengCentro de Investigaciones y Publicaciones FarmaceuticasPharmacy Practice1885-642X1886-36552019-06-01172143610.18549/PharmPract.2019.2.1436An investigation of the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelinesMishriky JStupans IChan VBackground: Fever and pain are common conditions in the Australian healthcare setting. Whilst clinical guidelines provide important therapeutic recommendations, evidence suggests they are not always followed. Given that community pharmacy is one of the most frequently accessed primary healthcare services, it is important to understand the views and practices of community pharmacists in pain and fever. Objectives: To investigate the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists in pain and fever management, and their views on relevant clinical guidelines. Methods: A cross-sectional study of community pharmacists in Australia was conducted using a customised, anonymous, self-administered, online questionnaire between March and May 2018. To capture a broad range of demographics, pharmacists were recruited via local industry contacts and the Pharmaceutical Society newsletter, with further recruitment through snowball sampling. The main outcomes measured were pharmacists’ views, practices and treatment recommendation of choice in pain and fever management, as well as views on clinical guidelines and training. Results: A total of 113 pharmacists completed the survey. In general, paracetamol (72%) was preferred as a recommendation over ibuprofen, and was the drug of choice for most mild to moderate pain and fever scenarios. Majority of pharmacists reported good knowledge of pain and fever management, however, only approximately half reported recent pain management training. Greater than 87% of pharmacists believe that clinical guidelines are useful in fever management, and 79% of pharmacists believe that following clinical guidelines is important in pain management. Conclusions: While most pharmacists recognise the importance of guidelines and demonstrated good pain and fever management, results suggests opportunities to promote additional education, upskilling, and research in this space to further optimise pain and fever management in the community.https://www.pharmacypractice.org/journal/index.php/pp/article/view/1436/719PainFeverPain ManagementAcetaminophenIbuprofenPharmaciesPharmacistsChoice BehaviorProfessional PracticeSurveys and QuestionnairesAustralia |
| spellingShingle | Mishriky J Stupans I Chan V An investigation of the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelines Pharmacy Practice Pain Fever Pain Management Acetaminophen Ibuprofen Pharmacies Pharmacists Choice Behavior Professional Practice Surveys and Questionnaires Australia |
| title | An investigation of the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelines |
| title_full | An investigation of the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelines |
| title_fullStr | An investigation of the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelines |
| title_full_unstemmed | An investigation of the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelines |
| title_short | An investigation of the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelines |
| title_sort | investigation of the views and practices of australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelines |
| topic | Pain Fever Pain Management Acetaminophen Ibuprofen Pharmacies Pharmacists Choice Behavior Professional Practice Surveys and Questionnaires Australia |
| url | https://www.pharmacypractice.org/journal/index.php/pp/article/view/1436/719 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mishrikyj aninvestigationoftheviewsandpracticesofaustraliancommunitypharmacistsonpainandfevermanagementandclinicalguidelines AT stupansi aninvestigationoftheviewsandpracticesofaustraliancommunitypharmacistsonpainandfevermanagementandclinicalguidelines AT chanv aninvestigationoftheviewsandpracticesofaustraliancommunitypharmacistsonpainandfevermanagementandclinicalguidelines AT mishrikyj investigationoftheviewsandpracticesofaustraliancommunitypharmacistsonpainandfevermanagementandclinicalguidelines AT stupansi investigationoftheviewsandpracticesofaustraliancommunitypharmacistsonpainandfevermanagementandclinicalguidelines AT chanv investigationoftheviewsandpracticesofaustraliancommunitypharmacistsonpainandfevermanagementandclinicalguidelines |