Community Pharmacists Interest and Attitudes to Pharmacy Practice Research in Pakistan: A Cross-sectional study

Pharmacists are an important pillar of the health care system and their involvement in research activities is important in this regard. Our article aimed to evaluate the interest and attitudes of community pharmacists towards research activities. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Pakistan by using an online questionnaire comprising of 25 questions. The interest and attitude of pharmacists regarding research activities were evaluated. Collected data was analyzed using IBM SPSS software version 26. A total of 291 respondents (80 males and 211 females) completed the survey. The median score for interest and an attitude towards research activities was 23 and 26 respectively. 60% of the respondents believed that being involved in research is important to their career but only 21% had received a research training course. 45% of the respondents were confident that they could conduct research. Significant variations (p = 0.001) were found in the median scores of males and females, postgraduates and graduates, pharmacists having more than 5 years working experience, and the ones having less experience. Community pharmacists in Pakistan have less interest and attitudes towards research activities. Initiation of training programs and the provision of facilities by government organizations can help the pharmacists to gain research experience. This will be beneficial in the betterment of the health care system of the community.