AUTHOR=Li Junlei , Hu Hao , Liu Wei , Lei Chi Ieong , Ung Carolina Oi Lam 

TITLE=Predicting Pharmacist Intention to Contribute to COVID-19 Management at the Community Level: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.653335

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.653335

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Introduction: Pharmacists' role in public health is expected to escalate into a key player in the continuing measures of managing COVID-19 pandemic especially in the community setting. However, their intention to provide essential public health services combating the pandemic, and the impact of their attitude and beliefs are largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the pharmacists' intention to practice COVID-19 related responsibilities based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), identify the key factors predicting their intention, and explore the usefulness of the TPB model in predicting such intention. 
Methods: A cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire was completed by pharmacists in Macao between May and August 2020. Quantitative responses regarding intention to practice COVID-19 related duties, and the 4 TPB variables (attitude (A), subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC) and past behavior (PB)) were measured. Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability were used to determine the reliability and validity of the tool. In addition to descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation was used to determine the strengths of the association, and multiple linear regression was used to predict the association between the intention and the 4 key variables.
Results: More than half of the pharmacists practicing in Macao completed the questionnaire (296/520) giving a response rate of 56.9%. Among them, 75% aged 26-40 and 56% were female. The majority of participants (91.9%) demonstrated a positive intention to contribute to the COVID-19 infection management (mean=4.19±0.51). The mean scores for A, SN, PBC and PB were 4.06±0.52, 3.71±0.58, 3.76±0.65 and 4.03±0.54 respectively. A (β=0.671), SN (β=0.608), PBC (β=0.563) and PB (β=0.829) were all positively correlated with intention (all P<0.001). It was found that 72.5% of the variance in intention to practice the COVID-19 related duties could be explained by the TPB model using the 4 key variables with A and PB being two possible predictors.
Conclusion: Pharmacists showed favorable A, SN, PBC and intention in participating in COVID-19 management in the community setting. Specific training, enhanced stakeholder communication and improved pharmacy management are essential to increasing pharmacists' willingness to take part in the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies alike in the future.