Knowledge, Practices and Information Sources of Egyptian Community Pharmacists Towards the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) during the Peak of the Pandemic

Background: Community pharmacists are among the first accessible healthcare providers to patients and play a pivotal role in completing the cycle of COVID-19 pandemic control and prevention. Objective: To evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices of Egyptian community pharmacists towards the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) during the peak of the pandemic and discover their sources of information. Methods: An observational cross-sectional questionnaire-based study in Egypt. Community pharmacists were included between June and July 2020. The questionnaire was validated through face and content validation. Results: Four hundred and twenty-two community pharmacists responded to the questionnaire. Approximately two thirds (n=287, 68%) showed good knowledge with a median knowledge score of 8 [IQR= 7-9]. About 63% of the participants showed positive attitudes towards the role of the Egyptian ministry of health in controlling the pandemic. Less than half (n =171, 40.5%) were found to have good practice level. The type of community pharmacy and the academic degree were associated with knowledge levels (p=0.014 and p=0.033, respectively). No correlation was found between knowledge and practice (rs=0.068, p=0.163). Official health organizations were found to be the primary (n=326, 77.3%) source of information in our sample. Conclusion: Many Egyptian community pharmacists had good to fair knowledge, attitude and practice levels towards the novel Coronavirus pandemic. However, Egyptian health organizations should consider more educational and awareness programs as insufficient knowledge, incorrect sources of information with the wrong attitude by some pharmacists could have negative and unwanted consequences on pandemic control and public health.