Study of pharmaceutical specialists’ information awareness on the matters of drug abuse

Prevention of non-medical use of drugs is the most important task of the state anti-drug policy of the Russian Federation, the effectiveness of which can largely be due to the professional awareness of pharmaceutical specialists, their compliance with the established regulations for the dispensing of drugs, and proper pharmaceutical advice.

The aim. The research of pharmaceutical specialists’ information awareness on the matters of drug abuse.

Material and methods. The study was based on the analysis of the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation governing the procedure for prescribing and dispensing drugs, instructions for the medical use of the drugs used for the purpose of abuse. In the course of the study, a systematic approach has been applied. It includes methods of structural-logical, cluster and content analyses, methods of generalization and grouping. The study of pharmaceutical specialists’ information awareness on the matters of drug abuse was carried out using a random sample survey using a specially developed questionnaire: 396 employees of pharmacy organizations of various forms of property from the Perm Territory, the Chelyabinsk and Kirov regions, the Udmurt and Chuvash Republics, the Komi Republic, were questioned in the period from 2017 to 2019. The questionnaire included 35 questions, structured in 4 blocks. The first block included questions on education, position, work experience of the respondents, the second – questions on identifying knowledge on the range of drugs used for abuse, and categories of consumers of such drugs. The third block contained questions on the regulation and compliance with the procedure for dispensing drugs. The fourth block of the questionnaire was intended to establish the methods and sources of obtaining information on the abuse of the drugs sold by specialists of pharmacy organizations.

Results. On the basis of the analysis carried out, an insufficient level of knowledge by specialists of the regulatory legal acts governing the trade of drugs, the range of drugs used for the purpose of abuse, and the categories of their consumers have been established. The violation of the rules for dispensing drugs has been revealed, as well as the lack of systematic sources of information on drug abuse.

Conclusion. The need to develop a training program for pharmaceutical specialists on the prophylaxis and prevention of drug abuse has been established. In order to work out additional competencies in the prevention of non-medical use of drugs and improve the quality of pharmaceutical consulting, it is necessary to conduct appropriate educational activities.