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
. 2021 Jan;17(1):1845-1852.
doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.06.014. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Community pharmacy response to infection control during COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey

Zachary Z Sum  1 , Charmane J W Ow  2
Affiliations

Community pharmacy response to infection control during COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey

Zachary Z Sum et al. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Pharmacies have been practicing innovative infection control measures during COVID-19. This article seeks to explore the current activities undertaken across various community pharmacy settings in relation to the safety of the workplace environment for staff and patients.

Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in Australia during the COVID-19 outbreak from 1st to 30th April 2020, addressing community pharmacist's awareness and response to infection and sanitation control.

Results: A total of 137 pharmacists took part in the survey. Regular cleaning took place in the pharmacy, but the use of gloves while cleaning was not regularly practice (48.18%). In addition, only 46.72% of respondents reported observing script baskets being cleaned and disinfected. About one-third (37.96%) of pharmacists were aware of the two-step cleaning and disinfecting process, with only 18.98% of pharmacist practicing such cleaning procedures. More than half of surveyed pharmacists reported having difficulty keeping up with pharmacy practice and infection control guidelines during the pandemic.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the majority of pharmacists are not fully aware of the proper infection control measures needed in a community pharmacy setting. Pharmacists must play a bigger role in infection control measures to ensure staff and public health safety.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hygiene; Infection control; OHS; Pharmacists; Pharmacy practice; Public health; SARS-CoV-2; Sanitation; Workplace safety.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The uptake of activities undertaken by pharmacists and their pharmacies in ensuring staff and workplace safety.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Awareness and status of sanitation and infection control practices undertaken by pharmacists and their pharmacies.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Types of fomites cleaned and disinfected by pharmacists and their pharmacies.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Pharmacist's awareness of two-step cleaning and disinfecting process in Australian healthcare setting.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Pharmacist's response to social/physical distancing and medication counseling ability.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Zhou F., Yu T., Du R. Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet. 2020;395(10229):1054–1062. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30566-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lockdowns Rise as China Tries to Control Virus. BBC News; 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51217455 Published.
    1. Jiang S. CNN; 2020. Death Toll in China Rises to 17.https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/wuhan-coronavirus-china-intl-hnk/... Published.
    1. Jiang S. CNN; 2020. Death Toll Rises to 25.https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-intl-hnk/ind... Published.
    1. The Straits Times . 2020. First Death outside China in Philippines.https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/first-death-outside-china-in-p... Published.