Knowledge and attitudes about smoking cessation among pharmacy technicians

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Public Health
• Tobacco Control

Background:

• Smoking cessation interventions are crucial for public health.
• Pharmacy technicians play an increasingly important role in patient care and health promotion.
• Continuing education (CE) programs can enhance healthcare professionals' knowledge and skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a smoking cessation continuing education (CE) program on pharmacy technicians' knowledge and attitudes.
• To evaluate changes in pharmacy technicians' self-efficacy and perceived outcomes related to smoking cessation support.

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-survey design was employed with a single group of pharmacy technicians.
• Participants attended a 2-hour CE course focused on smoking cessation.
• A validated survey instrument measured changes in knowledge, efficacy, and outcome domains.

Main Results:

• A total of 51 pharmacy technicians completed both pre- and post-intervention surveys.
• Significant improvements were observed in technicians' knowledge (P = .034), self-efficacy (P < .001), and outcome expectations (P < .001).
• The Wilcoxon signed rank test confirmed statistically significant gains across all measured domains.

Conclusions:

• The CE program effectively enhanced pharmacy technicians' knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in assisting smokers to quit.
• Findings suggest that pharmacy technicians are valuable assets in smoking cessation promotion efforts.
• Further research is warranted to explore and validate the role of pharmacy technicians in tobacco cessation programs.