Predictors of Recommending Non-Pharmacological Therapy for Cough during Pregnancy by the Community Pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): A Simulated-Patient Approach

Pharmacy Practice

  • Khalid Awad Al-Kubaisi1Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics, College of Pharmacy-University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Email: kalkubaissi@sharjah.ac.ae
  • Asim Ahmed Elnour2(PhD, MSc), Program of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi campus; AAU Health and Biomedical Research Center, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Email: asim.ahmed@aau.ac.ae
  • Sanah Hasan3Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University of Sciences and Technology. Email: s.hasan@Ajman.ac.ae
  • Nageeb Abdul Galilb4Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS) at Ajman University (AU), UAE. Email: n.hassan@ajman.ac.ae
  • Nadia Al Mazrouei5Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, UAE. Email: nalmazrouei@sharjah.ac.ae
  • Maisoun Alkaabi6SEHA, New Medical Center (NMC) Royal Women's Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Email: maisounalkaabi@gmail.com
  • Abdulla Al Amoodi7Ambulatory Healthcare Services, Academic Affairs, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), UAE. Email: aalamoodi@seha.ae
  • Semira Abdi Beshir8Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Dubai Medical University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Email: dr.semira@dmu.ae
  • Derar H Abdel-Qader9Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, The University of Petra. Email: d.balawi@igec.com.au
  • Ahmad Al-Azayzih10Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutic, College of Pharmacy-University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Email: aal-azayzih@sharjah.ac.ae
  • Vineetha Menon11B. Pharm, Pharm. D, PGDPv, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University, UAE. Email: dr.vineetha@gmu.ac.ae
  • Israa Yousif Khidir12Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy & Pharmacy Practice, (PhD, MSc, B Pharm), College of Pharmacy, Najran University, Kingdom Saudi Arabia. Email: iyelkhidir@nu.edu.sa
  • Fahad T. Alsulami13Assistant professor, Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia. Email: f.alsulami@tu.edu.sa

Volume 23 Issue 3 Pages 1-13

DOI: 10.18549/PharmPract.2025.3.3168

Abstract

Background: Cough is common during pregnancy. Community Pharmacists (CPs) can provide high-quality cough assessment and management services during pregnancy, including nonpharmacological and pharmacotherapies. In pregnant women, non-pharmacological approaches may be preferred as a first line of treatment for cough to minimize the potential side effects associated with pharmacological therapies. Objective: This study aimed to determine if CP characteristics (age, gender, job title, and experience) can predict clinical competencies as related to patient assessment, and act as predictors of recommending a non-pharmacological therapy for cough as first-line therapy for pregnant women. A secondary aim of this study was to further evaluate CP counselling and communication skills by measuring the levels of patient satisfaction following interactions. Methods: A cross-sectional, simulated patient (SP) study was conducted among 200 community pharmacies selected randomly in Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman emirates (UAE). A cough scenario was developed, and two fourth-year pharmacy students role-played an SP visiting community pharmacies and requesting symptom relief from a cough. A formal assessment tool was used and consisted of 29 questions to assess the comprehensiveness of CPs' cough assessment, management, counselling, and communication skills. A descriptive and bivariate analysis of the data was undertaken. Results: Two hundred pharmacies were visited, and 88.5% of CPs asked about the description of cough symptoms. Around a third of the CPs (32.5%) did not ask follow-up questions to determine if the SP had any other symptoms, such as sinusitis, a cold, or gastric reflux. 68.0% of the CPs did not successfully ascertain that the SP was pregnant. Most CPs (97%) forgot to ask about patients' allergies to medicine, and (43.5%) did not ask if the SP had sought any medication for the cough. More than half of the CPs (62%) had not addressed the non-pharmacological treatment. Just over two-fifths (44.5%) of the CPs prescribed the SP with Prospan® cough syrup, and 3.5% of CPs recommended antibiotics for a cough. 82% of CPs did not use any source of information other than their general knowledge and expertise. Most (80%) of the SPs were either very highly satisfied or highly satisfied with cough counselling provided by the CPs. In addition, we found that age(AOR=1.489, 95% CI: 1.095-2.026, P-value= 0.01), gender(AOR=0.344, 95% CI:0.244-0.486, P-value ≤0.001), job title (AOR= 1.914; 95% CI: 1.353-2.708, P-value< 0.001), and educational levels of CPs (AOR= 0.696; 95% CI: 0.513-0.946, P-value=0.020), is predictors of non-pharmacological therapies to SPs by the CPs in the UAE. Conclusion: This study is the first in the UAE to determine the predictors of prescribing non-pharmacological treatment to pregnant women with cough by CPs, which has practical implications for CP training and education programs. Enhancing CPs' knowledge of non-pharmacological approaches to managing cough will improve maternal health.

Keywords

  • community pharmacist
  • cough
  • pregnancy
  • simulated patient
Pharmacy Practice

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