Evaluating the Impact of a Pharmacist-Led Educational Intervention in Enhancing Pulmonary Tuberculosis Awareness in Malaysia
Keywords:
Pharmacist-led intervention, tuberculosis, disease knowledge, pulmonary tuberculosis, patient educationAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how a pharmacist's counselling can raise awareness regarding the disease.
METHODOLOGY: A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted at Hospital Pulau Pinang from December 2023 to December 2024. A total of 206 participants with confirmed PTB were randomly selected and included in the study. Participants included in the intervention arm received structured Pharmacist counselling in addition to directly observed therapy (DOT). The control arm received DOT from the nurses. The data were collected at baseline, 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months after treatment completion. Data were analyzed at baseline and at 6 months. Between-group differences at follow-up were analyzed using baseline-adjusted comparisons. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 28. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT06608069).
RESULTS: The intervention group showed significantly improved knowledge of treatment (p = 0.01), preventive measures (p = 0.01), and PTB symptoms (p = 0.01) compared with the control group. This result was sustained after the completion of the treatment as well. At 6 months, the intervention group demonstrated significantly higher knowledge across multiple domains compared with the control group (p < 0.05), with a medium effect size (Cramer's V = 0.30). The regression analysis showed that males and smoking status were associated with disease knowledge.
CONCLUSION: The educational counselling provided by the Pharmacist had a significant impact on participants' awareness of disease knowledge. This study emphasizes the participation of pharmacists as educators and health counsellors for better disease management.
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