ArticleSaudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society2020
Community pharmacy services and preparedness during COVID-19 outbreak in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
Article in Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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13 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessment of the feasibility of including community pharmacies under the regulation of the saudi food and drug authority.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2025Article
- Multi-stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analyses for 2010-2020.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2025Review
- Patient care and customer services during the COVID-19 pandemic at accredited pharmacies: Pharmacists and patients' perspectives.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2023Article
- A survey of pharmacists' perception of the work environment and patient safety in community pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2023Article
- Global overview of pharmacist and community pharmacy actions to address COVID-19: A scoping review.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2023Article
- The Impact of Serum Levels of Vitamin D3 and Its Metabolites on the Prognosis and Disease Severity of COVID-19.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Diverging levels of COVID-19 governmental response satisfaction across middle eastern Arab countries: a multinational study.BMC public health · 2022Article
- The response to COVID-19 among drug retail outlets in Indonesia: A cross-sectional survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2022Article
- Assessing the pharmaceutical care provision to suspected COVID-19 patients in community pharmacies: a simulated patient study.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Over-the-counter sale of antibiotics during COVID-19 outbreak by community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia: a simulated client study.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- The coping strategies of community pharmacists and pharmaceutical services provided during COVID-19 in Malaysia.International journal of clinical practice · 2021Article
- Community pharmacists' preparedness and responses to COVID-19 pandemic: A multinational study.International journal of clinical practice · 2021Article
- Knowledge, Attitude and Practice About Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic and Its Psychological Impact on Students and Their Studies: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Pharmacy Students in Saudi Arabia.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2021Article
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1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWearing facial masks, hand hygiene, and social distancing are highly recommended preventive measures against COVID-19. Masks and disinfectants are usually sold in community pharmacies that are supposed to undertake extreme precautions to avoid cross infection among clients. It is also their responsibility to play a prominent role in educating the community regarding this outbreak.
objectivesTo investigate the preparedness of private community pharmacies in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, for the COVID-19 outbreak with regard to safety measures, customer education, and quality of preventive aids sold by them.
methodsOne hundred pharmacies were visited by simulated clients. The availability of free hand disinfectants, masks, gloves, and customer educational aids as well as the measures employed to ensure maintenance of safe distances between customers were documented. The adherence of pharmacists and customers to safety precautions and the behavior of pharmacists against violators of regulations were also observed. Finally, the availability and quality of facial masks and hand disinfectants sold by these pharmacies was documented.
resultsFifty-five pharmacies offered free hand disinfectants but only in three of them all customers used them. Only two pharmacies offered free disposable masks and temperature screening was available in only one pharmacy. Educational aids were found in 31 pharmacies and only 53 pharmacies used visual indicators for social distancing. Violation of wearing masks by pharmacy personnel and customers was seen in 34 and 87 pharmacies, respectively. Social distancing was violated in 64 pharmacies and intervention by staff was seen in only three of them. Finally, facial masks were available for sale in only 35 pharmacies, and in 23 of these, the quality was questionable; hand disinfectants were available in 84 pharmacies, and in 14 of these, the quality was unknown.
conclusionsCommunity pharmacies in Madinah were short of registered, high-quality facial masks during the survey. Means to control the transmission of infection inside pharmacies were unsatisfactory. Society has shown poor compliance to preventive measures against COVID-19 infection and the role of community pharmacists in promoting compliance was found to be poor. The study reveals an unsatisfactory level of preparedness of Madinah community pharmacies for the pandemic.
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