Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Nurses perception of pharmaceutical care practice: A qualitative approach

Zelal Kharaba^1,2, Rozina Kousar³, Yassen Alfoteih⁴, Saira Azhar⁵ , Shujaat Ali Khan⁶, Ghulam Murtaza⁷

¹Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; ²Honorary Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom; ³Department of Pharmacy, Women Institute of Learning, Abbottabad, Pakistan; ⁴City University College of Ajman, Ajman, United Arab Emirates; ⁵Department of Pharmacy, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan; ⁶Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus; ⁷Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Pakistan.

For correspondence:- Saira Azhar Email: saira.azhar@uos.edu.pk Tel:+923142082826

Accepted: 24 January 2020 Published: 30 April 2020

Citation: Kharaba Z, Kousar R, Alfoteih Y, Azhar S, Khan SA, Murtaza G. Nurses perception of pharmaceutical care practice: A qualitative approach. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(4):887-892 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i4.30

© 2020 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the perception of nurses regarding pharmaceutical care services in the healthcare system of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Province of Pakistan.

Methods: This qualitative study was implemented by conducting semi-structured interviews. For data collection, interviews (face-to-face) were conducted after developing an interview guide. The interviewees were 18 nurses and were interviewed at their nursing stations in hospitals. Interviews were continued until the data reached a saturation point. The respondents signed a written consent form before the start of the interview.

Results: From the thematic content analysis, five major themes were extracted as stated here: (a) incognizance of pharmaceutical care; (b) collaboration of nurses and pharmacists; (c) improper distribution system; (d) lack of provision of patient counseling; and (e) pharmacist’s role in reducing prescribing errors.

Conclusion: Based to the findings, Pakistani nurses have poor knowledge of pharmaceutical care, thus highlighting the need for organizing pharmaceutical care awareness programs for nurses. On the other hand, nurses have a positive perception of pharmacists’ roles in the healthcare system and want to work with them.

Keywords: Perception, Pharmaceutical care, Qualitative study, Nurse, Patient care