http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v12i3.25
Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the opinions
of community pharmacists on the usefulness and
reliability of drug package inserts (DPI) as drug
information source, and necessary modifications needed
to improve their contents.
Methods: A prospective
cross-sectional study using a pretested questionnaire
was administered to sixty-one superintendent community
pharmacists (CP) across two cities in southwestern
Nigeria. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize
the data and evaluate respondents’ opinion. Kruskal-Wallis
test was used to evaluate the rank variables with p <
0.05 considered significant.
Results: A majority of CP believed
that information from DPI was precise and may be helpful
in achieving therapeutic success (n = 42; 72.8 %). CP
believed there is need for the modification of DPI
content with respect to patient-related information (n =
52; 92.8 %) and health provider-related information (n =
52; 94.5%), non-uniformity of information on the same
generic medicines (n = 31; 50.8 %), and ambiguity of
content (n = 29; 47.5 %). Years of experience in
practice significantly influenced respondents’
perception of precision and satisfaction with DPI as
source of information.
Conclusions: Community pharmacists in
southwestern Nigeria believed that a properly modified
drug package insert could be a useful and reliable
source of drug information in daily practice.
Keywords:
Community pharmacist, Drug information, Drug package
insert
