Knowledge, attitude and practice of community pharmacists in managing oral anticancer agents: a scoping review

This review aimed to synthesize the literature on community pharmacists' knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAPs) in managing oral anticancer agents (OAAs) and identify the key barriers and facilitators.

A literature search was conducted using Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Scopus to identify studies that assessed the KAPs, barriers, and facilitators of community pharmacists in managing OAAs. Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted the data. Results were reported narratively.

Eleven studies were included in this review. Community pharmacists reported gaps in knowledge of OAAs and a general low comfort in dispensing, managing side effects, and educating patients on OAAs. Main barriers to provide care to patients on OAAs included lack of knowledge and training and inadequate communication between hospitals and community pharmacies. Several facilitators were also identified, including closer relationship with the patients, interprofessional practice and availability of a larger workforce of community pharmacists.

This scoping review revealed a gap in the KAPs among community pharmacists in managing OAAs and identified barriers that should be addressed in future studies, while highlighting the need for further education and training to improve their KAP. Recognizing these gaps will facilitate the creation of capacity-building initiatives to ensure that community pharmacists are equipped to take on the responsibility of managing the safe and effective use of OAAs.