Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jul 31;7(7):304-13.
doi: 10.4066/AMJ.2014.2133. eCollection 2014.

Impact of community pharmacy-based educational intervention on patients with hypertension in Western Nepal

Sushmita Sharma  1 , Bhuvan Kc  2 , Alian A Alrasheedy  3 , Atisammodavardhana Kaundinnyayana  4 , Aarjan Khanal  5
Affiliations

Impact of community pharmacy-based educational intervention on patients with hypertension in Western Nepal

Sushmita Sharma et al. Australas Med J. .

Abstract

Background: There is a paucity of data regarding the feasibility and impact of community pharmacy-based educational interventions on the management of chronic diseases in developing countries.

Aims: The aim of this study was to establish the feasibility, and to investigate the impact, of community pharmacy-based educational intervention on knowledge, practice, and disease management of patients with hypertension in Western Nepal.

Method: A single-cohort pre-/post-intervention study was conducted from August 2012 to April 2013. The participants included in the study were patients diagnosed with hypertension attending a pharmacist-led hypertension clinic. The educational intervention was conducted by pharmacists, was individualised, and consisted of three counselling sessions over a period of six months. The patients' knowledge of hypertension, their practice of lifestyle modification and non-pharmacological approaches concerning hypertension management, and blood pressure were assessed at baseline and again after nine months by using a pre-validated questionnaire.

Results: Fifty patients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study. The median (IQR) knowledge score changed from 6 (4) to 13 (0) after the intervention (p<0.01) with the median (IQR) practice score changing from 7 (4) to 16 (2) (p<0.01). The mean (SD) systolic BP changed from 150.1 (7.8) to 137.7 (9.9) (p<0.01) and the mean (SD) diastolic BP from 104 (9.5) to 94.5 (7.8) after the intervention (p< 0.01).

Conclusion: A simple, educational intervention by community pharmacists had improved patients' disease knowledge, practice, and management of their hypertension. Evidence suggests Nepalese community pharmacists need could play an important role in the management of chronic diseases like hypertension through simple interventions such as providing educational support for patients.

Keywords: Community pharmacy; Nepal; educational intervention; hypertension.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Yach D, Hawkes C, Gould CL, Hofman KJ. The global burden of chronic diseases: overcoming impediments to prevention and control. JAMA. 2004;291(21):2616–22. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Causes of death 2008: data sources and method. 2011 [cited 2014 July 7]. Available from: www.who.int/healthinfo/global.../cod_2008_sources_me thods.pdf.
    1. World Health Organization. A global brief on hypertension: silent killer, global public health crisis. 2013 [cited 2014 July 20]. Available from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/79059/1/WHO_DCO_WHD_2013.2_eng.....
    1. Dhitali SM, Karkiii A. Dealing with the burden of hypertension in Nepal: current status, challenges and health system issues. Regional Health Forum. 2013;17(1):44–52.
    1. Ogah OS, Okpechi I, Chukwuonye II, Akinyemi JO, Onwubere BJ, Falase AO, Stewart S, Sliwa K. Blood pressure, prevalence of hypertension and hypertension related complications in Nigerian Africans: A review. World J Cardiol. 2012;4(12):327–40. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources