Abstract
Objectives Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Qatar. Despite the sustained efforts to increase breast cancer public awareness via campaigns and public screening programmes, breast cancer screening rate remains low. The involvement of community pharmacists in the communication and distribution of breast cancer screening information should have a significant positive impact. The objectives of this study were to determine the degree of community pharmacists’ involvement in breast cancer health promotion activities in Qatar, to explore their attitudes towards the involvement in breast cancer health promotion, to assess their breast cancer knowledge, to gauge their interest in receiving breast cancer continuous education and to list their perceived barriers for including breast cancer health promotion activities into their daily practice. Setting Community pharmacies in Qatar. Method The study objectives were addressed in a cross-sectional survey of all community pharmacists in Qatar. Main outcome measures The extent of community pharmacists’ involvement in breast cancer health promotion activities, the community pharmacists’ interest and comfort in providing breast cancer health promotion, their breast cancer knowledge, their interest in receiving breast cancer continuous education, their attitudes and beliefs towards breast cancer health promotion and their perceived barriers for integrating breast cancer heath promotion activities into their daily practice. Results Over a 12-week period, we collected 195 surveys (60% response rate). Eighty-eight percent indicated that they never invited healthcare professionals to provide breast cancer education in the pharmacy, 78% said that they never distributed breast cancer educational materials, and 58% reported that they never counseled patients about breast cancer. Nevertheless, more than 60% were highly interested in being engaged in breast cancer health promotion activities. In addition, 87% believed that discussing breast cancer awareness with female patients in the pharmacy was beneficial to patients. Yet pharmacists perceived many barriers for integrating breast cancer health promotion into their daily practice including lack of educational materials (79%) and lack of public recognition (61%). Moreover, their breast cancer knowledge mean score was 63% with 77% expressing a high interest in receiving breast cancer continuous education. Conclusion Despite their low involvement in breast cancer health promotion, the majority of pharmacists were interested in educating patients about breast cancer. However, low breast cancer knowledge and other barriers can prevent actualizing this role. Further work should focus on providing these pharmacists with breast cancer continuous education and overcoming all stated barriers.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Parkin M, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P. Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J Clin. 2005;55:74–108.
Breast Cancer Early Detection: Importance of Finding Breast Cancer Early (2009) http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_Breast_Cancer_Early_Detection.asp. Accessed 1 Dec 2009.
Roder D, Houssami N, Farshid G, Gill G, Luke C, Downey P, et al. Population screening and intensity of screening are associated with reduced breast cancer mortality: evidence of efficacy of mammography screening in Australia. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2008;108(3):409–16.
Humphrey L, Helfand M, Chan B, Woolf S. Breast cancer screening: a summary of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2002;137(5 Part 1):347–60.
Swedish Organized Service Screening Evaluation Group. Reduction in breast cancer mortality from organized service screening with mammography: 1. Further confirmation with extended data. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006;15(1):45–51.
Tabár L, Vitak B, Chen HH, Yen MF, Duffy SW, Smith RA. Beyond randomized controlled trials: organized mammographic screening substantially reduces breast carcinoma mortality. Cancer. 2001;91(9):1724–31.
Hayes TG, Peterson LE, Weinberg AD. Current guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Dis Manage Health Outcomes. 1998;3(5):239–50.
Calis KA, Hutchison LE, Elliott ME, Ives TJ, Zillich AJ, Poirier T, et al. Healthy people 2010: challenges, opportunities, and a call to action for America’s pharmacists. Pharmacotherapy. 2004;24(9):1241–94.
ASHP Council on Pharmacy Practice. ASHP statement on the role of health-system pharmacists in Public Health. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2008;65:462–7.
World Health Organization. The Role of the Pharmacist in Self-Care and Self-Medication. 1998. http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/pdf/whozip32e/whozip32e.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec 2009.
Ciardulli LM, Goode JR. Using health observances to promote wellness in community pharmacies. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2003;43(1):61–8.
Kachroo S. Pharmacists should assume a larger role in overcoming the racial and/ethnic barriers to breast cancer screening. J Manag Care Pharm. 2006;12(5):406–7.
Giles JT, Kennedy DT, Dunn EC, Wallace WL, Meadows SL, Cafiero AC. Results of a community pharmacy–based breast cancer risk-assessment and education program. Pharmacotherapy. 2001;21:243–53.
McGuire TR, Leypoldt M, Narducci WA, Ward K. Accessing rural populations: role of the community pharmacist in a breast and cervical cancer screening programme. J Eval Clin Pract. 2007;13:146–9.
Qatar. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar. Accessed 12 Apr 2010.
Bener A, Ayub H, Kakil R, Ibrahim W. Patterns of cancer incidence among the population of Qatar: a worldwide comparative study. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2007;8(9):19–24.
Qatar National Cancer Society. 2003. http://www.qncs.org.qa/. Accessed 20 Dec 2009.
Think Pink. 2008. http://www.thinkpinkqatar.com/tpq_home. Accessed 20 Dec 2009.
Iqbal MA. HMC plans high-tech facilities for early detection of breast cancer. 2008. http://archive.thepeninsulaqatar.com/component/content/article/349-qatar-newsarchive/89131.html. Accessed 20 Dec 2009.
Huda NV. Breast cancer rates rise. 2008. http://66.132.241.65/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&month=October2009&file=Local_News200910131655.xml. Accessed 20 Dec 2009.
Bener A, El Ayoubi HR, Moore MA, Basha B, Joseph S, Chouchane L. Do we need to maximize the breast cancer screening awareness? Experience with an endogamous society with high fertility. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2009;10(4):599–604.
American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Early detection. 2009. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/MoreInformation/BreastCancerEarlyDetection/breast-cancer-early-detection-toc. Accessed 19 Aug 2010.
Spruill WJ, Wade WE. Cancer awareness and prevention activities: assessment of pharmacists’ knowledge and interest. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2004;44:94–8.
Souvignier ST, Mayer JA, Eckhardt L. Educating the public about skin cancer prevention: a role for pharmacists. J Clin Pharm Ther. 1996;21:399–400.
Odedina FT, Warrick C, Vilme H, Young S. Pharmacists as health educators and risk communicators in the early detection of prostate cancer. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2008;4:59–66.
Kheir N, Zaidan M, Younes H, El Hajj M, Wilbur K, Jewesson PJ. Pharmacy education and practice in 13 middle Eastern Countries. Am J Pharm Educ. 2008;72(6):1–13.
Anderson C. Health promotion in community pharmacy: the UK situation. Patient Educ Couns. 2000;39:285–91.
Department of Health. Choosing Health through pharmacy–a programme for pharmaceutical public health 2005–2015. London: Department of Health. 2005. http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4107494. Accessed 19 Aug 2010.
Anderson C, Blenkinsopp A, Armstrong M. The contribution of community pharmacy to improving the public’s health: Report 1:Evidence from peer-reviewed literature 1990–2001. Great Britain: PharmacyHealthLink & RPSGB. 2003. http://www.pharmacyhealthlink.org.uk/files/Evidence%20Base%20Report%201.pdf. Accessed 19 Aug 2010.
Anderson C. Health promotion by community pharmacists: perceptions, realities and constraints.J Soc Admin Pharm. 1998;15(1):11–21.
Aquilino ML, Farris KB, Zillich AJ, Lowe JB. Smoking cessation services in Iowa community pharmacies. Pharmacotherapy. 2003;23(5):666–73.
Awad A, Abahussain E. Health promotion and education activities of community pharmacists in Kuwait. Pharm World Sci. 2010;32(2):146–53.
Dunlop JA, Shaw JP. Community pharmacists’ perspectives on pharmaceutical care implementation in New Zealand. Pharm World Sci. 2002;24(6):224–30.
Keene J, Cervetto S, Willson A. Health promotion in the community pharmacy. Pharmaceutical J. 1994;252:408–9.
Uema SA, Vega EM, Armando PD, Fontana D. Barriers to pharmaceutical care in Argentina. Pharm World Sci. 2008;30(3):211–5.
Eden M, Schafheutle EI, Hassell K. Workload pressure among recently qualified pharmacists: an exploratory study of intentions to leave the profession. Int J Pharm Pract. 2009;17(3):181–7.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the pharmacists who completed and returned the questionnaire. They would also wish to thank Dr. Ahmad Nadir Kheir for revising this manuscript.
Funding
This publication was made possible by a grant from the Qatar National Research Fund under its Undergraduate Research Experience Program.
Conflicts of interest
The authors of this manuscript have no conflicts of interest to declare. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Qatar National Research Fund.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11096-016-0341-2.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
El Hajj, M.S., Hamid, Y. Breast cancer health promotion in Qatar: a survey of community pharmacists’ interests and needs. Int J Clin Pharm 35, 376–385 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-010-9449-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-010-9449-y