An investigation of drug information needs of Nigerian pharmacists

Provision of appropriate drug information improves patient outcome. The objective of this study was to investigate the drug information needs of Nigerian pharmacists in Enugu. A questionnaire consisting of 24 practice problems requiring pharmacists to search for drug information was developed and administered. Patient counseling (3.58 +/- 1.35) and adverse drug events (3.40 +/- 1.28) were among the most common practice problems requiring pharmacists to search for drug information. The most-used sources of drug information were index of Essential Medicines (Emdex; 4.97 +/- 1.67), British National Formulary (4.91 +/- 1.72), and textbooks (4.40 +/- 1.87). An association exists between the extent Of use of Emdex and work experience (P =.011). Practice setting of pharmacists was significantly associated with the degree of use of the British National Formulary (P =.003) and textbooks (P =.046). Therapy-specific information constitutes the drug information needs of the respondents. Textbooks and pocket reference books were the most-used sources of drug information.