Knowledge and challenges of pharmacists in Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract
The Coronavirus disease 2019 is a public health problem which has had a significant impact on
healthcare workers globally. Pharmacists have played a vital role in public education, approval of
treatment options and manageme nt of infected individuals during the pandemic. This study assessed
the knowledge and challenges of pharmacists in Ghana during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst registered pharmacists in Ghana from 13″‘ July to 19′
August, 2020 after seeking ethical approval. Data was collected using a pre-tested validated online
questionnaire. Data was entered into Microsoft Excel and was exported to STATA 15.0 for stafisticaJ
analysis. Factors influencing pharmacists’ ability to work and challenges were summarized as
frequencies, percentages and a chart. A total of 488 pharmacists parflcipated in this study,
Official international health organization sites and media (N=442, 90.57%) and official government
sites and media (N=404, 82.79%) were the most commo n sources of info rma0on on the coronavirus
disease 2019 for pharmacists. Over a quarter of the parccipants (N=122, 28.48%) had been tested for
the disease, and 354 (72.54%) had sufficient knowledge about the disease. A total of 398 (B1.56%)
parficipants admitted they had used their own personal protechve equipment at work. Factors that
posifively influenced participants’ a a lity to work included mofivafion (N=36, 21.2%), a sense of
duty (N=33, 19.4%) and enforcement of safety protocols (N=20, 11.8%). Non- adherence to safety
protocols {N=41, 23.98%), fear of exposure to the virus (N=35, 20.47%) and inadequate provision of
personal protective equipment (N=30, 17.54%) were common challenges faced. Pharmacists in various
fields of practice demonstrated sufficient knowledge on the coronavirus disease 2019. Their expense
can be utilized to prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 in Ghana.