Impact of brief educational intervention on knowledge of cancer among community pharmacists

Introduction Community pharmacists may play a vital role in early detection and prevention of cancer. Findings from our pre-assessment studies showed that the Ghanaian community have inadequate knowledge of cancer. We assessed the impact of a brief educational intervention on knowledge level of cancer among Ghanaian community pharmacists. Method The study was a descriptive interventional study. Knowledge of cancer, signs and symptoms, risk factors and cancer screening tests were assessed before in a pre-assessment study and after a brief online education in our current study. A total of 435 community pharmacists were recruited in both studies. Results The mean +/- SD total knowledge score of cancer increased from 9.03 +/- 2.65 to 12.97 +/- 1.43 out of a maximum score of 15 points. The mean +/- SD total knowledge score of signs and symptoms of cancer increased from 4.15 +/- 2.14 to 6.86 +/- 0.76 out of a maximum score of 7 points. For the total knowledge score of causes and risk factors of cancer, the mean +/- SD score increased from 8.13 +/- 3.31 to 11.59 +/- 0.87 out of a maximum score of 12 points. Lastly, the mean +/- SD total knowledge score of cancer screening tests increased from 9.04 +/- 5.01 to 16.39 +/- 0.86 out of a maximum score of 18 points. Conclusion There were overall statistically significant improvements of participants knowledge in all aspects of cancer in this study compared to the pre-assessment study. Our study presents evidence of the effectiveness of a brief educational intervention tailor-made for Ghanaian community pharmacists.