Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38418995›Full record

ArticleBMC complementary medicine and therapies2024

Beyond pillbox: a national cross-sectional study on the attitudes, practices, and knowledge of community pharmacists regarding complementary and alternative medicine.

Farah Naja, Nada Abbas, Sharfa Khaleel, Falak Zeb, Tareq A H Osaili, Reyad Shaker Obaid, MoezAlIslam Faris, Hadia Radwan, Leila Cheikh Ismail, Haydar Hassan and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A Call for Training Pediatric Practitioners About Industrial Chemicals and Child Health.The journal of pediatric pharmacology and therapeutics : JPPT : the official journal of PPAG · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Farah NajaDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Nada AbbasDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Sharfa KhaleelDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Falak ZebDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Tareq A H OsailiDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Reyad Shaker ObaidDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
MoezAlIslam FarisDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Hadia RadwanDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Leila Cheikh IsmailDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Haydar HassanDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Mona HashimDepartment of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Hamzah AlZubaidiResearch Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. halzubaidi@sharjah.ac.ae.
University of Sharjah · AEAmerican University of Beirut · LBJordan University of Science and Technology · JO

Funding

University of Sharjah Research Board 2201050771
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile community pharmacists are uniquely positioned to promote the safe and effective use of complementary and alternative medicine, their potential role remains largely untapped. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to complementary and alternative medicine products among community pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates and explore the correlates of knowledge in the study sample.

methodsUsing a stratified random sampling frame, a national survey of community pharmacists was conducted in the United Arab Emirates. In a face-to-face interaction, participants completed a multi-component questionnaire consisting of four sections: sociodemographic and general characteristics; knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine products and usage; attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine and practices related to complementary and alternative medicine. Based on participants' answers, scores were calculated with higher scores indicating more positive knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

results373 community pharmacists participated in the study (response rate: 83%). For the knowledge questions, more than 50% of community pharmacists correctly answered the functions of complementary and alternative medicine, however lower percentages were noted for the side effects and drug interactions questions. Most community pharmacists had positive attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine, except for particular aspects such as efficacy, where 40% agreed that complementary and alternative medicine is only effective in treating minor complaints. As for practices, while more than 70% of participants counseled patients on complementary and alternative medicine use, only 47% reported the toxic effects when encountered. Multiple linear regressions showed that community pharmacists working in independent pharmacies, those with fewer years of experience, and those who did not receive complementary and alternative medicine education during their academic degree had lower knowledge scores (p < 0.05).

conclusionsThe findings of this study showed that community pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates have good knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine functions and generally positive attitudes and practices, with few gaps identified in each. Together, these findings provide critical evidence for the development of targeted interventions to promote the role of community pharmacists towards safe and effective complementary and alternative medicine use in the country.

Indexed as

Complementary TherapiesPharmacistsCross-Sectional StudiesHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansResearch DesignAlternative MedicineAttitudeCommunity pharmacistsComplementary medicineKnowledgePracticeUnited Arab Emirates

Identifiers

PMID38418995
PMCPMC10902973
OpenAlexW4392240827

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.