ArticlePharmacy practice2013
Assessment of community pharmacists' counselling skills on headache management by using the simulated patient approach: a pilot study.
Article in Pharmacy practice, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacist-led responses to headache and insomnia symptoms: A simulated patient study.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2026Article
- Evaluating community pharmacists' involvement in patient counselling and health education in Nairobi, Kenya: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians' Perceptions of Scopes of Practice Employing Agency Theory in the Management of Minor Ailments in Central Indonesian Community Pharmacies: A Qualitative Study.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Perceptions of Community Pharmacists Towards Patient Counseling and Continuing Pharmacy Education Programs in Sudan.Integrated pharmacy research & practice · 2023Article
- Evaluation of pharmacist's practices regarding the antimicrobials dispensing: a simulated patient study.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- The Quality of Counseling for Headache OTC Medications in German Community Pharmacies Using a Simulated Patient Approach: Are There Differences between Self-Purchase and Purchase for a Third Party?TheScientificWorldJournal · 2022Article
- Evaluation of Patient Safety Culture in Community Pharmacies.Journal of patient safety · 2020Article
- Assessment of patient counselling on the common cold treatment at Slovak community pharmacies using mystery shopping.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2019Article
- Assessment of community pharmacy professionals' knowledge and counseling skills achievement towards headache management: a cross-sectional and simulated-client based mixed study.The journal of headache and pain · 2018Article
- A simulated patient study assessing over the counter supply and counseling in Jordan: responding to headache complaints.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2018Article
- Evaluation of medication counseling practice at community pharmacies in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2018Article
- Prevention, education and information: the role of the community pharmacist in the management of headaches.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2014Article
- A naturalistic observation study of medication counseling practices at retail chain pharmacies.Pharmacy practiceArticle
- Pharmacists' Counseling and Benzodiazepines Dispensing for Sleep Disorders: A Simulated Patient Study in Iran.Journal of research in pharmacy practiceArticle
- An investigation of the views and practices of Australian community pharmacists on pain and fever management and clinical guidelines.Pharmacy practiceArticle
- Communication skills in Brazilian pharmaceutical education: a documentary analysis.Pharmacy practiceArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHeadache, or cephalalgia, is one of the 20 most disabling diseases in the world and affects a large portion of the world's population. People generally use over-the-counter medications to treat headaches and other minor symptoms. A pharmacist should help patients choose the most effective, safe, and convenient pharmacotherapeutic option.
objectiveTo assess the counselling skills of community pharmacists for headache management by using the simulated patient approach.
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2010 to July 2010. Data were obtained from a convenience sample consisting of one pharmacist from each of the 24 participating community pharmacies. In order to evaluate the pharmacists' counselling skills, a simulated patient role played a standardized headache case requesting self-medication. The interactions of the simulated patient with the pharmacists were audiovisually recorded using a hidden micro camera, and these recordings were analysed using a validated questionnaire.
resultsOf the 24 evaluated pharmacists, 19 (79.1%) were women. Information was spontaneously provided by 15 (62.5%) pharmacists. At least one question was asked by the pharmacist to assess the signs and symptoms. Most pharmacists (n=17, 70.8%) recommended sodium dipyrone, either alone or in combination with other drugs. The most discussed items in the simulation visits were contraindications (n=17, 70.8%), indications (n=10, 41.6%), and drug administration times (n=8, 33.3%). None of the pharmacists recommended any non-pharmacological therapeutic alternatives. The overall impressions of the pharmacists' professional counselling skills ranged from poor to fair.
conclusionsThis study showed that the pharmacists' counselling skills and the guidance provided by the pharmacists to the simulated patient were insufficient for the satisfactory management of headache.
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