Original Research
Impact of Pharmacists’ Intervention on the knowledge of HIV infected patients in a public sector hospital of KwaZulu-Natal
Submitted: 29 November 2010 | Published: 12 October 2011
About the author(s)
Saloshini Govender, School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaTonya Esterhuizen, Programme of Biostatistics, Research Ethics and Medical Law, College of Health Sciences, South Africa
Panjasaram Naidoo, School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Abstract
Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess the impact of a pharmacist intervention on the knowledge gained by HIV and AIDS patients with regard to the disease, antiretroviral drug use (i.e. how the medication is taken, its storage and the management of side effects) as well as adherence to treatment.
Method: This study was undertaken at a public sector hospital using anonymous structured questionnaires and was divided into three phases: pre-intervention, intervention and postintervention phases. After obtaining patient consent the questionnaires were administered during the first phase. A month later all patients who visited the pharmacy were counselled intensely on various aspects of HIV and antiretroviral medication. Thereafter patients who participated in Phase 1 were asked to participate in the second phase. After obtaining their consent again, the same questionnaire was administered to them. Quantitative variables were compared between pre-intervention and post-intervention stages by using paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed ranks tests. Categorical variables were compared using McNemar’s Chi-square test (Binary) or McNemar-Bowker test for ordinal variables.
Results: Overall the mean knowledge score on the disease itself had increased significantly (s.d. 6.6%), (p < 0.01), after the pharmacists’ intervention (pre-intervention was 82.1% and post-intervention was 86.3%). A significant improvement was noted in the overall knowledge score with regard to medicine taking and storage (p < 0.05) and the management of the side effects. There was a non-significant difference between the adherence in pre-intervention and in post-intervention (p = 0.077).
Conclusion: Pharmacists’ intervention had a positive impact on HIV infected patients’ HIV and AIDS knowledge on both the disease and on the antiretroviral drug use and storage.
Keywords
Metrics
Total abstract views: 6568Total article views: 13704
Crossref Citations
1. Effects of pharmaceutical care interventions on humanistic outcomes in hypertensive people living with HIV: results of a randomized controlled trial
Idongesit L Jackson, Chinwe V Ukwe
International Journal of Pharmacy Practice vol: 30 issue: 3 first page: 261 year: 2022
doi: 10.1093/ijpp/riac017