Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

A qualitative analysis of the perception of academic pharmacists regarding their role in healthcare system of two Pakistani cities

Saira Azhar¹ , Mohammad Azmi Hassali², Ayesha Iqbal¹, Nyla Jabeen³, Abida Latif⁴, Naveed Ullah⁵, Shujaat Ali Khan¹, Yasmeen Akhtar¹, Ghulam Murtaza¹

¹Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad, Pakistan; ²Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, University Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia; ³Department of Biotechnology International Islamic University, Islamabad; ⁴University College of Pharmacy, University of Punjab, Lahore; ⁵Department of Pharmacy University of Swabi, Swabi, Pakistan.

For correspondence:- Saira Azhar Email: drsairaazhar@gmail.com Tel:+23142082826

Received: 19 September 2014 Revised: 22 December 2014 Published: 28 February 2015

Citation: Azhar S, Hassali MA, Iqbal A, Jabeen N, Latif A, Ullah N, et al. A qualitative analysis of the perception of academic pharmacists regarding their role in healthcare system of two Pakistani cities. Trop J Pharm Res 2015; 14(2):311-315 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v14i2.17

© 2015 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the role and perception of academic pharmacists regarding their role in the healthcare system of Pakistan.

Methods: Qualitative methodology was used to explore the perception of academic pharmacists, and semi-structured interview was used to collect the data. The study was conducted in the cities of Islamabad and Lahore, Pakistan from April to June 2011.

Results: On the basis of the interview guide, thematic content analysis yielded five major themes: 1) the need for a more comprehensive pharmacy curriculum; 2) perception of pharmaceutical care in Pakistan; 3) collaboration with other healthcare professionals; and 4) strategies to improve the status of pharmacist.

Conclusion: There is a necessity for curriculum alignment, which is considered important to enhance pharmacy practice activities, as this will ultimately yield several benefits for pharmacists, including job satisfaction.

Keywords: Academic pharmacist, Perception, Pharmacistsâ€™ role, Healthcare system