Exploring metabolic syndrome care: insights from community pharmacists in the UAE setting-a cross-sectional...

Community pharmacists act as a middleman among both patients and prescribing doctors. As such, they oversee making sure that patients receive the best possible pharmaceutical care for Metabolic syndrome (MetS). There is a dearth of adequate data on MetS awareness, attitudes, and treatment practices between community pharmacists within the UAE.

To assess the attitudes of community pharmacies professionals across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and the Northern Emirates toward managing and preventing MetS.

This is a cross-sectional study design carried out between May 2023 and February 2024. Four final-year pharmacy students conducted in-person interviews among professionals working in community pharmacies and structured questionnaire was utilized for information collection. The questionnaire comprised Demographic information, attitudes and practices to Prevention and Management of Metabolic Syndrome.

The total of 420 pharmacists were recruited for the study. The mean attitude score toward the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome was 75.8%, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [76.3, 81.4%]. The average practice score toward prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome was 86.8% with a 95% CI of [85.3, 88.3%]. Supervising pharmacists were more likely to achieve a positive attitude score compared with assistant pharmacists (OR = 4.63; 95% CI: 2.32-9.21; p < 0.001). Pharmacists with more than 10 years of experience had higher odds of a positive attitude score compared with those with 1-5 years of practice (OR = 2.11; 95% CI: 1.11-3.99; p = 0.022). Good practice scores were significantly associated with working in chain pharmacies (OR = 1.69), holding senior professional positions (supervising pharmacist: OR = 8.39; chief pharmacist: OR = 5.90), having longer professional experience (6-10 years: OR = 5.08; >10 years: OR = 7.04), and receiving prior training on MetS (OR = 4.64; 95% CI: 2.52-8.55; p < 0.001).

The findings show that the community pharmacists are cognizant about appropriate practices required for the treatment and management of MetS. It was inferred that the setting and quality (experience and training) of pharmacy professionals play vital roles in strengthening the attitude and practice of community pharmacists with regards to MetS.