Evaluation of Community Pharmacists’ Awareness towards Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: A Simulated Client Method

Introduction: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus variant in the Arabian Peninsula. There is a lack of information regarding awareness and practices of community pharmacists in Qatar for this contagious disease.

Aim: To determine the quality of the MERS-related information, recommendations, and counseling practices provided by Qatar’s community pharmacists by using Simulated Client Method (SCM).

Materials and Methods: An observational cross-sectional study using a non traditional SCM was conducted in community pharmacies of Qatar from February 2017 to April 2017. A total of 30 community pharmacies were visited twice by two independent simulated clients and data regarding, provision of evidence-based information, recommendations and counseling practices were collected to assess the competency of pharmacists in managing MERS as a primary care problem. Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used for data analysis.

Results: In present study, majority of pharmacists encountered were male and younger than 45-year-old with 44 (73.3%) each. The average number of pharmacists who did not ask about the patient’s current medical conditions 56 (93.3), medications 58 (97.5%), allergies, and smoking status in both scenarios were not asked by any of the pharmacist. Most of the pharmacists gave an incorrect explanation of MERS 43 (71.7%). The overall quality counselling score for the pharmacists (mean±SD; median (IQR)) was {27.5±4.5; 28.5 (25.3-30.0)}. Quality counselling was significantly related to the type of pharmacy (p=0.0478).

Conclusion: Qatar community pharmacist’s MERS related information, recommendations, and counseling practices were below expectations and inconsistent, thus urging the need for continuous professional development.