Knowledge, attitudes and barriers towards breast cancer health education among community pharmacists

Abstract

The goal of this study was to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and perceived barriers among community pharmacists towards breast cancer health promotion. A structured questionnaire was administered to 1000 registered community pharmacists in northern, central and southern regions in Jordan. Mean score for knowledge of breast cancer among community pharmacists was 8.51 ± 3.04 points out of 15 points, classifying the overall knowledge as acceptable. Five hundred (50%) pharmacists had poor knowledge, while the other half had acceptable level of knowledge for breast cancer. Mean score for pharmacists' knowledge of breast cancer screening was 3.83 ± 1.61 out of 7 points. Six hundred pharmacists (60%) had poor knowledge, while 400 pharmacists (40%) had satisfactory knowledge of screening guidelines. Pharmacists showed favourable attitude towards involvement in breast cancer education with an average score of 19.8 ± 4.35 out of 28 points. Lack of time was perceived by most pharmacists (63.9%) as a major barrier. Other highly recognised barriers were lack of privacy (57.1%) and lack of proper educational skills (56.2%). Age had no relationship with level of knowledge or attitude among pharmacists; however, a significant correlation exists between pharmacists' attitude and knowledge of breast cancer. Knowledge of breast cancer and its screening were modest among community pharmacists in Jordan. However, views of community pharmacists towards breast cancer health promotion and awareness were positive. Efforts to improve knowledge of community pharmacists in order to be effective educators of the public about breast cancer are highly advocated.