Community Pharmacists' Knowledge in Managing Minor Ailments: A Focus on Childhood Gastroenteritis in Saudi Arabia Using a Simulated Patient Approach.

Background

Community pharmacists are frequently approached by patients seeking health advice for minor ailments, particularly for common childhood diseases like diarrhea. Globally, approximately two million children under five years of age die each year due to diarrhea, which remains a significant health concern, especially in developing countries.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to assess the skills of community pharmacists in addressing and prescribing for simple viral diarrhea in children.

Methods

A hundred community pharmacies were visited by simulated clients following a standard scenario of inquiring about simple childhood diarrhea. Subsequently, they filled out a standardized form after each visit to assess the skills of the community pharmacists.

Results

It was found that 98% of the pharmacists were males. Approximately 80% of them inquired about the child's age, while only 29% asked about the presence of fever. Around 2-6% of them only asked about the stool nature, child's feeding behavior, and family symptoms. Around 10% of them suggested a potential bacterial origin, and 24% recommended the use of antibiotics. Only 43% of the community pharmacists suggested the use of oral rehydration solution, while 15-56% recommended using antidiarrheals, anti-emetics, and spasmolytics. The mean knowledge score of the pharmacists was 9.06 out of 17.

Conclusions

The results indicated a relatively low level of knowledge about managing simple viral childhood diarrhea, which may reflect a similar level of knowledge about dealing with minor ailments in general.