Public Perceptions Concerning Community Pharmacy Services in Jouf Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Reference to COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim/Background: The present study was aimed at investigating the public perceptions about extended services by community pharmacists in Jouf region of Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Institutional based cross sectional prospective survey. The sample size was calculated by an online sample size calculator named Raosoft (R). The calculated sample for this study was 945 with a 5% error margin, confidence interval of 95%, the population size fixed at 200000. Study instrument: A 34-item self-administered questionnaire developed by an in-depth literature review and approved by the subject experts (professor, associate professor, assistant professor and lecturer) after suggestions and modification in the questionnaire, pretested to a small sample of thirty participants. The reliability scale applied to determine the alpha value of pretested sample. Results: Majority of the participants 83.6% were females, the frequency (1-3 times) of visit is highest (52.4%) for the participants with the main reason for visiting a particular pharmacy is close location (52.3%). The participants had positive perceptions towards the role of the pharmacist regarding feeling comfortable asking advice from the pharmacist, getting comprehensive consultation, having sufficient discussion time, communication with the pharmacist, getting answers for their questions, medication labeling and information about medication interactions and side effects. However, the participants had negative attitudes towards the medications prices and the diagnostic services such as lab tests provided by the community pharmacists. Public are of the opinion that the pharmacists are well aware of the COVID-19 pandemic playing a good role in counselling about the COVID-19, without any change in their behavior in the current situation. Conclusion: The study showed that there was positive public perceptions about the role of the community pharmacists and the practices and services offered by them. The study recommended increasing the public awareness about the role of the community pharmacists and the range of the services offered in the community pharmacies.