| Purpose/Objectives: This project studied how prepared community pharmacists are to respond to acute medical emergencies, as well as their perceived efficacy in addressing these situations. Specifically, it considered what training pharmacists have for responding to medical emergencies, what emergency medical equipment pharmacies have on-hand, the frequency that medical emergencies occur within pharmacies, and the types of emergencies encountered. It also measured self and collective efficacy of pharmacists in responding to medical emergencies within their pharmacy to determine if differences in self-efficacy or collective efficacy exist.;Methods: This study utilized a cross-sectional, non-experimental, descriptive design via a self-administered, Internet-based survey distributed through email to a national sample of community pharmacists assembled by Delta Marketing Dynamics Healthcare Research. Responses yielded 393 usable completed surveys. Measures were created for demographic characteristics of respondent community pharmacists and questions concerning the training received by community pharmacists and others working within the pharmacy, the frequency with which such emergencies occur within the community setting, as well as their level of preparedness and emergency equipment available for addressing acute medical emergencies. Two scales were developed including a sixteen item scale to assess pharmacists' self-efficacy and a thirteen item scale to assess pharmacists' collective efficacy views for responding to medical emergencies. PCA was conducted to determine the factors affecting either self or collective efficacy, which comprised two components for each scale of BLS-related and non-BLS related skills. MANOVA was used to determine whether differences exist between pharmacists' self and collective efficacy and their practice location, type of practice, position and prior experience.;Results/Discussion: Most pharmacists reported training in CPR at some point in their career, although approximately half had current certifications for CPR/BLS. Common emergency equipment available were items that would be expected in a pharmacy (e.g. gloves, Epi Pens, Glucagon kits). Although a majority of pharmacies had a first aid kit of available, less than 10% had access to an AED. MANOVA results showed significant differences between location of practice for the self efficacy non-BLS component and both collective efficacy components, type of practice for the BLS-skills component, and prior CPR experience for non-BLS skills component. |
