Ascertaining the Outreach of Community Pharmacist's Interventions in Public Health and Extended Pharmacy Services: a Cross Sectional Analysis

The broadening role of community pharmacists in public health has been established in the developed countries. However, there is a dearth of investigations evaluating the activities of community pharmacists in public health in Pakistan. The current study was aimed to ascertain the extent of pharmacists' involvement in public health services, factors influencing such involvements, and proposed strategies to enhance these involvements in community pharmacies. A cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacists from Lahore metropolis, Pakistan. A validated study instrument was used to collect information on socio-demographics, currently practiced public health services, preparedness and barriers towards the provision of such services, and proposed strategies. Appropriate statistical methods were used to ascertain the relationship and correlation among variables. Of 210 respondents (mean age: 27.0 +/- 3.4 years, female: 51.9%), 99.5% were aware of public health services. The most commonly practiced public health activity was medication counselling (95.2%), while screening for dyslipidemia was reported by 4.8% of participants. The community pharmacists with postgraduation qualification and those working in chain pharmacies had more involvement in public health services (p < 0.05). Overall, participants demonstrated a positive attitude, and reported the lack of coordination with other healthcare professionals as a major barrier of pharmacists` contribution in public health activities (AOR: 4.662, p = 0.005). the provision of educational support, strengthening the collaboration among health professionals and remuneration programs were considered a most appropriate strategies to enhance the community pharmacists` contributions in public health. This study underscored the satisfactory involvement of community pharmacist in public health. However, their contribution can substantially be improved if identified barriers are primarily addressed. There is a dire need to integrate the pharmacy regulatory bodies with public health departments in Pakistan.