Role of Pharmacists in COVID-19 Disease: A Jordanian Perspective

OBJECTIVES: The novel 2019 coronavirus outbreak that first appeared in Wuhan has quickly gained global attention, due to its high transmissibility and devastating clinical and economic outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the possible roles of Jordanian pharmacists in minimizing the stage of community transmission. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using Google forms targeting Jordanian pharmacists was conducted during March 2020 and distributed electronically by means of social media. Using the survey tool, we measured the pharmacists’ knowledge, the educative activities they perform, and their perceptions regarding undertaking traditional and untraditional roles during the COVID-19 outbreak, as specified by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). Collected data were analyzed using SPSS version-19. RESULTS: Jordanian pharmacists (n = 449) reported performing various educative activities, and in general, they were knowledgeable about various aspects of the COVID-19 disease (median knowledge score: 20 [range, 13-25]), but certain gaps in knowledge were detected that must be addressed. Pharmacists had positive perceptions about both their traditional and untraditional roles specified by the FIP, the median perceptions score was 4 (range, 1-5). CONCLUSIONS: Jordanian pharmacists can be used to reduce community transmission of the outbreak. However, more actions are required to keep pharmacists knowledgeable with recent disease updates to enable them to perform their tasks effectively during times of crisis.