Sociocultural dimensions of research on public health roles for community pharmacists in tuberculosis disease control in a developing country

Waseem Ullah; Bandana Saini; Hadi Almansour; Sidra Noor; Razia Fatima; Gul Majid Khan

doi:10.32593/jstmu/Vol7.Iss1.308

Waseem Ullah Boitekanelo College, Gaborone, Botswana, South Africa
Bandana Saini School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Hadi Almansour School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sidra Noor Shifa College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University Islamabad, Pakistan
Razia Fatima Common Unit, National Tuberculosis Control Program, Pakistan
Gul Majid Khan Department of Pharmacy, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32593/jstmu/Vol7.Iss1.308

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Public Health, Health Policy, Implementation Research, Public Private Partnership, Health Systems and Planning

Abstract

Developing countries often have healthcare system fragmentation because of either limited administrative healthcare organization or partial engagement of healthcare team members operating in private operations. Community pharmacies (also known as retail pharmacies) remain one of the most accessible venues for initial health-seeking for infectious diseases by populations living in these countries. Although community pharmacies are well established for the sale and dispensing of medications prescribed for infectious diseases to patients, their roles in infectious disease prevention, health promotion, and active/passive case detection have not been well elaborated. In fact, community pharmacies' engagement in public health roles is largely limited by the sociocultural barriers and challenges prevailing in these countries. In an attempt to address the aforementioned barriers, this study builds upon a large-scale national implementation (case-detection) trial conducted in a developing nation (such as Pakistan) with a high burden of Tuberculosis disease and provides a way forward for designing and scaling-up similar interventions for Tuberculosis control in the Pakistani healthcare system through public health pharmacy services.

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Author Biographies

Waseem Ullah, Boitekanelo College, Gaborone, Botswana, South Africa

Head of Department of Pharmacy

Bandana Saini, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Professor

Hadi Almansour, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

PhD Scholar

Sidra Noor, Shifa College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University Islamabad, Pakistan

Assistant Professor and Dept. Incharge

Razia Fatima, Common Unit, National Tuberculosis Control Program, Pakistan

National Coordinator

Gul Majid Khan, Department of Pharmacy, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Meritorious Professor

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