Pharmacy responses during the COVID-19 pandemic: a questionnaire survey

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has heavily affected the economy, industries, and medicine. Local governments and medical institutions have struggled to respond. The purpose of this questionnaire survey was to evaluate strategies for pharmacy services, availability of ethanol for disinfection, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC public health 2022-01, Vol.22 (1), p.170-170, Article 170
Main Authors: Watanabe, Shinichi, Inami, Yu, Kimura, Hiroshi, Yano, Takaaki, Ono, Masafumi, Akizuki, Ryosuke, Nawata, Yukihiro, Tanaka, Tomomi, Furukawa, Kiyoshi, Tanaka, Mamoru
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Control
Coronavirus
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disinfectants
Disinfection
Drug stores
Epidemics
Ethanol
Health care facilities
Humans
Infection control
Infections
Japan
Local government
Management
Methods
Pandemics
Pandemics - prevention & control
Personal protective equipment
Pharmaceutical Services
Pharmaceuticals
Pharmacies
Pharmacy
Polls & surveys
Protective equipment
Public health
Questionnaires
SARS-CoV-2
Surveys and Questionnaires
Viral diseases
Websites
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Summary:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has heavily affected the economy, industries, and medicine. Local governments and medical institutions have struggled to respond. The purpose of this questionnaire survey was to evaluate strategies for pharmacy services, availability of ethanol for disinfection, and measures adopted for in-house infection control aiming to enhance future infection control efforts. Since pharmacies have been also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, we surveyed COVID-19 measures taken at 174 pharmacies in Ehime prefecture, Japan. The survey showed that pharmacies made changes to facilities and equipment, such as installing partitions at dispensing counters, procuring personal protective equipment for employees, and using ethanol for disinfection, even when these items were in short supply. Pharmacies also adopted new strategies, such as holding meetings with suppliers and internal staff via online platforms. Many pharmacies also undertook COVID-19 preventive measures, such as preparing documentation of infection control measures and disinfectants. Moreover, they held lectures and workshops on disinfection and infection control measures. From public health perspectives, pharmacies should adopt measures to prevent infections spread and, if necessary, utilise online tools and other new strategies to achieve this goal. It is also essential to educate the public about infection control, stockpile supplies, and work with hospitals to prevent COVID-19 spreads.
ISSN:1471-2458
1471-2458
DOI:10.1186/s12889-022-12589-z