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Multicenter Study
. 2025 May 5;25(1):652.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07224-5.

Knowledge, attitude, and perceived barriers towards pharmaceutical care among graduating pharmacy students in North West, Ethiopia. -a multicenter cross-sectional study

Abdisa Gemedi Jara  1 , Faisel Dula Sema  2 , Masho Tigabe Tekle  2 , Wagaye Atalay Taye  2 , Endalamaw Aschale Mihrete  3 , Banchamlak Teferi Mekonen  2 , Mikias Mered Tilahun  4
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Knowledge, attitude, and perceived barriers towards pharmaceutical care among graduating pharmacy students in North West, Ethiopia. -a multicenter cross-sectional study

Abdisa Gemedi Jara et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Introduction: Pharmaceutical care (PC) is a pharmacist's responsibility, and its provision of medication-related care is meant to improve patients' quality of life. The future of PC is in the hands of graduating pharmacy students (GPS). Good knowledge and a positive attitude toward providing PC is essential among pharmacy students. In addition, identifying and resolving perceived barriers is crucial for PC.

Method: A Cross-sectional study was conducted among GPS using a single-stage cluster sampling technique in North West, Ethiopia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure knowledge, attitude, and perceived barriers of GPS toward PC provision. The data that passed the quality check were entered and analyzed using Statically Package for Social Science version 27.0. Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U test were performed to assess the difference in PC knowledge and attitude, and P-value < 0.05 was used to declare statistically significant difference.

Result: Overall, 140 GPS participated, giving a response rate of 90.3%, and the mean (± SD) age was 23.72 ± 2.87 years. Overall, 122 (87.1%) and 54 (38.6%) GPS have good PC knowledge and positive attitudes toward provision of PC, respectively. Half of the GPS perceived that lack of therapeutics knowledge prevents them from providing PC. Statistically significant differences were observed in PC knowledge and attitude based on institution, education level before joining the program, source of motivation, previous incomplete grades, and participation in extracurricular activities.

Conclusion: Graduating pharmacy students' knowledge on PC is adequate. But only less than half of the GPS have a positive attitude toward the provision of PC. Identifying barriers and tackling them is crucial to improve practitioners' attitude and the PC provision service. Promoting inclusive health policies on PC can improve the PC provision.

Keywords: Ethiopia; Graduating pharmacy students; Pharmaceutical care; Pharmaceutical care knowledge and pharmaceutical care attitude.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical clearance was obtained from Research and Ethical Review Committee of University of Gondar, School of Pharmacy, Department of Clinical Pharmacy. This study was conducted by the Helsinki Declaration. The purpose of the study was explained to the study participants and we assured them the data would only be used for research purposes, not academic evaluation. Written informed consent was obtained from participants, who showed their agreement by signing the consent form before the data collection began. To comfort students, one selected study participant was asked to collect the questionnaire they filled and by excluding study participants’ names and other identifiers, confidentiality was maintained at all levels of the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Graduating pharmacy students’ pharmaceutical care knowledge, North west, Ethiopia 2023 PC: pharmaceutical care, CI: confidence interval
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Graduating pharmacy students’ attitude toward provision of pharmaceutical care, North west, Ethiopia 2023 CI: Confidence interval
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