Original Research

Community pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and practices towards the use of complementary and alternative medicines in Durban, South Africa

Yasmeen Thandar, Julia Botha, Anisa Mosam
Health SA Gesondheid | Vol 24 | a1029 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hsag.v24i0.1029 | © 2019 Yasmeen Thandar | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 01 December 2017 | Published: 18 March 2019

About the author(s)

Yasmeen Thandar, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa
Julia Botha, Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Anisa Mosam, Department of Dermatology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; and, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Atopic eczema (AE) is a common skin disease with an increasing worldwide prevalence, which has almost doubled over the last decade in South Africa. Many patients commonly explore complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) for AE and often initially seek advice from their local pharmacists.

Aim: To explore the knowledge, attitude and practices amongst community pharmacists regarding CAM.

Setting: The study was conducted amongst pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Durban, South Africa.

Methods: During 2016, a cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 158 randomly selected pharmacists, of which 82 responded. Respondents were sent an email with a link to the questionnaire. Where logistically possible, questionnaires were hand-delivered.

Results: The majority of respondents were male (n = 46; 56%), aged between 31 and 40 years. Despite most pharmacists not being familiar with various CAMs for AE, many (43%) recommend them, and 50% were amenable to referring patients to CAM practitioners. Despite 51% reporting that patients do ask about CAM for AE, 54% are not confident discussing or initiating discussions with patients. More than half of the pharmacists (55%) had no CAM training but believed it is essential for inclusion in the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum. Most were interested in broadening their knowledge on CAM and felt it would better prepare them in counselling their patients.

Conclusions: The study demonstrated poor knowledge and communication about CAM for AE between pharmacists and patients, although pharmacists exhibited strong interests in learning more about CAM. There is a continuing need for education programmes and inclusion into undergraduate curricula that would assist pharmacists to advise patients on different types of CAMs.


Keywords

pharmacist; knowledge; practices; complementary medicines; atopic eczema

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