Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pediatric asthma is a common respiratory disease that significantly affects children's physical and mental health. This study aims to investigate community pharmacists' self-reported knowledge of asthma and explore their attitude and practice in providing pharmaceutical services to address the needs of pediatric asthma patients. METHODS: An online questionnaire informed by recent literature was distributed to community pharmacists in Guangdong Province, China via Qualtrics using convenience sampling and snowballing. Descriptive analysis and generalized multiple linear regression analysis were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Out of 579 community pharmacists who attempted this questionnaire, 473 completed it, giving a completion rate of 81.7%. Among the participants, 217 (45.9%) were female, and 319 (67.5%) aged between 31 and 50. The mean score of self-reported knowledge was 60.29 ± 6.16 out of 95 (range: 19-76); the mean score of attitude was 87.62 ± 8.37 out of 130 (range: 77-130); the mean score of practice was 18.72 ± 2.32 out of 30 (range: 6-24). Age, years of employment, highest education level, the average number of patients serving per day, and the average number of asthma patients serving per week were factors significantly associated with participants' self-reported knowledge, attitude, or practice toward pediatric asthma management (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Many community pharmacists felt they lacked sufficient knowledge about pediatric asthma and infrequently provided pharmaceutical services to children with asthma, despite having a positive attitude towards this professional role. To enhance the pharmaceutical care for pediatric asthma patients, it is essential to develop practice guidelines and care models, and provide education and training to community pharmacists accordingly.