Abstract
HIGHLIGHTS: Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue? Acute and chronic wounds can lead to significant emotional and financial burdens for patients and governments. Pharmacists are trained to manage and counsel patients on basic wound care in their undergraduate pharmacy training, with a specific focus on wounds observed in primary healthcare settings. Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health? Community pharmacists can assist in alleviating the burden that untreated or incorrectly treated wounds may cause. Pharmacists and nurses, working together as part of the healthcare team, have complementary skills in wound care that could be used to the benefit of patients. Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers in public health? The role of community pharmacists in wound care in South Africa could be expanded. Focus should be placed on better equipping pharmacists with the knowledge necessary to assist patients with wound care management and education. ABSTRACT: Community pharmacists are in a perfect position to offer comprehensive wound management advice to patients with both chronic and acute wounds, which can result in major costs and emotional burdens. A wound that is managed well through correct assessment, suitable treatment and follow-up counselling will heal optimally and essentially save patients costs and stress. The study aimed to explore the role of South African community pharmacists in wound management. A list of community pharmacies was requested from the South African Pharmacy Council and an online questionnaire was conducted in August 2022 using QuestionPro(®) Version 2. Stratified random sampling was used to select 350 community pharmacies out of a total of 3240 in South Africa. The response rate was 16.0% (n = 56). Half of the community pharmacists (n = 28) had adequate knowledge about acute wound care, with a third (30.4%, n = 17) indicating that they provide patients with chronic diabetic wound care advice at least once a week. Respondents indicated Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activities and reading journal articles, many relating to diabetic wound management, as ways in which they upskill themselves in wound care. Many of the respondent pharmacists were in favour of an increased focus on wound care services in their community pharmacies. Further training programmes and workshops could be offered to provide pharmacists with the knowledge necessary to manage both chronic and acute wounds in their pharmacies.