The influence of emotional intelligence on knowledge, perception and readiness on Telepharmacy

Emotional Intelligence (EI) involves skills to recognise, comprehend, and manage emotions that influence thinking. Using EI allows for the integration of emotion into reasoning and problem-solving. If applied effectively, EI can foster positive emotions that promote the deployment of telepharmacy, which involves delivering pharmaceutical services remotely via telecommunication. High acceptance of telepharmacy among users, particularly patients or healthcare providers is associated with their high knowledge, positive perception, and readiness, all influenced by EI. This study investigates undergraduate students' levels of EI, knowledge, degree of perception, and readiness for telepharmacy, examines EI's correlation with all other variables, and compares them across various sociodemographic groups.

A cross-sectional online study involving 455 undergraduate students at Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor (UCS) was conducted using a 74-item survey distributed via Google Forms. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 29.

Most participants exhibited high EI (53.3 %), average knowledge (53.2 %), positive perception, and high readiness for telepharmacy. EI positively correlated with both perception (p < 0.001) and readiness (p < 0.001). Differences in knowledge were observed by field of study (p < 0.001) and faculty (p < 0.001), with higher levels among students in the pharmacy field and healthcare-related faculty. Readiness also differed by field of study (p < 0.05) and faculties (p < 0.001), with students in the pharmacy field and healthcare-related faculties exhibiting higher readiness.

EI is crucial for the successful implementation of telepharmacy services in the future. Enhancing knowledge, perception, and readiness towards telepharmacy among undergraduate students is essential for improving its acceptance and future use.