Knowledge, attitude and practices of Saudi pharmacists regarding CVD risk factors and associated barriers.

Abstract

Risk assessment for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is fundamental to prevention, enabling early intervention when risks are recognized. This cross-sectional study focuses on evaluating the knowledge, attitude, practices and perceived barriers of Saudi pharmacists regarding CVD risk factors. A self-administered survey was employed to collect the responses from the participants over a period of four months. Approximately 91% of the participants had completed their graduations and 49.4% of the participants had an experience of less than 5 years. Only 23.1% and 40.1% of the participants reported possessing functional sphygmomanometer and glucometer in their pharmacies, respectively, as a point of care tools. A high level of positive attitude was significantly (P=0.014) associating the level of education. The study identified several barriers influencing the CVD prevention services during pharmaceutical care. The top three barriers were lack of time (66.4%), lack of privacy (58.6%) and lack of tools (59.9%). Despite inadequate knowledge and barriers, a favourable attitude CVD prevention was observed. Thus, pharmacists' CVD risk assessment and preventive hurdles must be addressed. In addition to the Ministry of Health (MoH)'s recent public policy measures, healthcare workers should receive ongoing education and training on CVD prevention and treatment.