TY - JOUR
T1 - Topical Corticosteroid Phobia among Danish Pharmacy Staff
AU - Toft-Hansen, Jakob Maarbjerg
AU - Nørreslet, Line Brok
AU - Vittrup, Ida
AU - Thyssen, Jacob Pontoppidan
AU - Agner, Tove
AU - Yüksel, Yasemin Topal
N1 - © 2024 S. Karger AG, Basel.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - INTRODUCTION: Topical corticosteroid (TCS) phobia may negatively impact treatment adherence. Currently, there are few studies exploring trust and knowledge of TCS use among pharmacy staff. The objective of this work was to examine TCS knowledge and possible phobia among Danish pharmacy staff.METHODS: A questionnaire, based on Topical Corticosteroid Phobia (TOPICOP©) questionnaire, was developed and rephrased to fit pharmacy staff. The questions were Likert scales and numerical rating scales (NRS) (0-10). In October/November 2021, 64 pharmacies were invited. If the pharmacies agreed to participate, a researcher visited the pharmacies and distributed the questionnaires.RESULTS: A total of 244 pharmacy workers from 59 pharmacies participated. The majority (95.4%) responded that they were aware of side effects of TCS; however, misconceptions regarding side effects were found in up to 34% of participants. Regarding TCS use, 40% sometimes advised the patients to wait as long as possible before initiating treatment with TCS. Confidence in dispensing TCS to patients was high, with a mean of 8.45 (NRS).CONCLUSION: Danish pharmacy staff generally reported high confidence in TCS use. Misconceptions regarding side effects were common, and there was a tendency to giving advices on TCS treatment that may indicate low confidence in TCS. Thorough education of pharmacy staff is needed to improve the knowledge of TCS.
AB - INTRODUCTION: Topical corticosteroid (TCS) phobia may negatively impact treatment adherence. Currently, there are few studies exploring trust and knowledge of TCS use among pharmacy staff. The objective of this work was to examine TCS knowledge and possible phobia among Danish pharmacy staff.METHODS: A questionnaire, based on Topical Corticosteroid Phobia (TOPICOP©) questionnaire, was developed and rephrased to fit pharmacy staff. The questions were Likert scales and numerical rating scales (NRS) (0-10). In October/November 2021, 64 pharmacies were invited. If the pharmacies agreed to participate, a researcher visited the pharmacies and distributed the questionnaires.RESULTS: A total of 244 pharmacy workers from 59 pharmacies participated. The majority (95.4%) responded that they were aware of side effects of TCS; however, misconceptions regarding side effects were found in up to 34% of participants. Regarding TCS use, 40% sometimes advised the patients to wait as long as possible before initiating treatment with TCS. Confidence in dispensing TCS to patients was high, with a mean of 8.45 (NRS).CONCLUSION: Danish pharmacy staff generally reported high confidence in TCS use. Misconceptions regarding side effects were common, and there was a tendency to giving advices on TCS treatment that may indicate low confidence in TCS. Thorough education of pharmacy staff is needed to improve the knowledge of TCS.
KW - Humans
KW - Denmark
KW - Female
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Male
KW - Adrenal Cortex Hormones/administration & dosage
KW - Adult
KW - Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
KW - Administration, Topical
KW - Pharmacists
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Phobic Disorders/drug therapy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85196757865&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1159/000534766
DO - 10.1159/000534766
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38679004
SN - 1018-8665
VL - 240
SP - 581
EP - 588
JO - Dermatology
JF - Dermatology
IS - 4
ER -