Abstract

HEALTH PROMOTION ACTIVITIES BY COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS IN NIGERIA: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Enwelunta I.G.D., Ogbonna B. O.*, Odili V. U. and Oparah A. C.

ABSTRACT

Background: Clinical practice is evolving and community pharmacies have become centers of public health services in the twenty- first century. Health promotion is an integral aspect of pharmacy practice. It is the process of empowering people to take responsibility and control over their basic health care needs for improvement. Objective: This study narratively reviewed health promotion services and studies by community pharmacists in Nigeria. Methods: The study was a narrative review of literatures covering health promotion by community pharmacists in Nigeria from 1980 to 2019. Data was summarized with descriptive statistics. Results: Most of the health promotion studies took place between 2011- 2019; 27(65.9%). The studies carried out were predominantly observational studies 36(85.7%). Poor documentation was a major limitation to health promotion activities in the study 4 (4.1%). Most of the studies fell below average in the benchmark for hierarchy of evidence based studies 37 (90.2%). The studies predominantly took place in the south west, north central and south eastern parts of Nigeria. Conclusion: Studies abound on community pharmacists health promotion activities in Nigeria. However, the studies and services predominantly remain at the developmental stage in the evidence-based ladder.

Keywords: Health promotion, pharmaceutical care, community pharmacists, narrative review, Nigeria, public health.