oa Knowledge and Attitude regarding Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Hospital Pharmacists in Qatar

Background: Pharmacists are front-line healthcare workers who contributed to fighting the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Knowledge and attitude of both community and hospital pharmacists about COVID-19 were reviewed at different practice settings¹. This work aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of hospital pharmacists in Qatar about COVID-19. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional web-based survey was distributed over 2 months. The study included Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) pharmacists. The survey was developed based on the information available on the World Health Organization website, Qatar Ministry of Public Health, and HMC COVID-19 guidelines^2–3. The survey was piloted on 15 pharmacists. The required sample size (n = 289) was calculated based on a population of 564 pharmacists working at HMC hospitals and to achieve a 95% level of confidence, with a 5% margin of error and a design effect equivalent to 2 for cluster design. Results: The recruitment was 64.7% (n = 187) of the target sample size of 289 pharmacists. The overall level of knowledge was not affected by participants’ demographics (p-value ≥ 0.05). Pharmacists provided more correct answers to questions related to general knowledge about COVID-19 compared to questions about the treatment of the disease (Figures 1 and 2). Regarding attitude, frequencies, and percentages used to report data, more than 50% of participating pharmacists are using national resources as the main source of information related to COVID-19. Good health practices and attitudes regarding diseases control were reported by pharmacists including preventative measures implementation and self-isolation when needed. Around 80% were in favor of taking the influenza vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion: The required sample size was not met, limiting the reliability and validity of our reported findings. Hospital pharmacists’ knowledge about COVID-19 is good concerning the nature of the disease and its rapid transmission. Knowledge about treatment aspects needs further enhancement. Preventative measures implementation and self-isolation when needed were reported by pharmacists as good health practices and attitudes.