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      Knowledge and opinion of pharmacists on emergency contraceptive pills in Hungary.

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          Abstract

          Background Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) are used to prevent unintended pregnancy. There is a worldwide intention to improve access to ECPs; therefore, identifying potential barriers to introducing over-the counter (OTC) access is of utmost importance. As pharmacists are the key personnel to convey accurate drug information, their knowledge and attitude on ECPs is important. Objective We aimed to conduct a nationwide study to assess pharmacists' knowledge on ECPs and to survey their opinion on sales category change of ECPs (i.e. to introduce OTC access in pharmacies). Setting Registered pharmacists in Hungary. Method A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted with an anonymous, web-based questionnaire. Univariate analysis (Mann-Whitney U test and Fischer's exact test) was used to identify factors associated with supportive opinion toward OTC provision. Main outcome measure Knowledge level of pharmacists, proportion of pharmacists with supportive opinion on OTC access. Results 357 out of 2019 pharmacists completed the questionnaire, yielding a 17.7% response rate. Almost 30% of pharmacists (N = 99) agreed that ECPs should have an OTC availability in Hungary. More than 40% of pharmacists (N = 145) considered ECPs as contraceptives. On average, 55.18% (standard deviation: ±12.40%) of the answers were correct, showing moderate knowledge of the pharmacists. Age and rating ECPs as contraceptives were significantly associated with supportive opinion toward OTC provision (p < 0.001). The effect of knowledge on the pharmacist's opinion was significant in young pharmacists (p = 0.02). Conclusion Pharmacists' knowledge and opinion on ECPs should be improved, especially that of the young ones. Currently the attitude of pharmacists does not favor sales category changes of ECPs in Hungary.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Int J Clin Pharm
          International journal of clinical pharmacy
          Springer Nature
          2210-7711
          Jun 2017
          : 39
          : 3
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Health Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, 1 Semmelweis str., 6725, Szeged, Hungary. vmelinda74@gmail.com.
          [2 ] Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
          [3 ] Hungarian Chamber of Pharmacists, Budapest, Hungary.
          [4 ] Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Health Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, 1 Semmelweis str., 6725, Szeged, Hungary.
          Article
          10.1007/s11096-017-0448-0
          10.1007/s11096-017-0448-0
          28349341
          a72098b5-f2d1-416f-a9ed-164f797e75dc
          History

          Emergency contraceptives,Hungary,Knowledge,OTC,Opinion,Pharmacists,Questionnaire

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