Community Pharmacists’ Current Safe Practice and Educational needs in Dispensing Melatonin Supplements in Jordan: A cross-sectional study
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Keywords
Counseling, Attitudes, Safety, Melatonin supplements, Community pharmacists, Effectiveness
Abstract
Objectives: This study assessed community pharmacists’ attitudes about melatonin supplements’ distribution, safety, and effectiveness, identified knowledge gaps, and proposed educational interventions to enhance safe practices. Method: A reliability-validated online survey was created and sent out to community pharmacists in Jordan in 2024 to fill out. Social media was used to extend the survey to facilitate contact among pharmacists from multiple parts of the community. A questionnaire was used to assess melatonin dispensing practices, the knowledge about adverse effects, drug interaction, safe practices, and counseling. Descriptive statistics and inferential analyses were used to evaluate the data. Results: A questionnaire was administered to 350 community pharmacists, those approved to participate in the study, with a response rate of 92%, and responses were recorded electronically. 69.9% are from the central area of Jordan. A considerable number of the participants (64.6%) had bachelor’s degrees, and the participants were mostly male. The mean age of participants was 29.04 ± 7.56 years, and 75.8% (n = 244) of community pharmacists reported dispensing melatonin supplements. The greatest prescribing and dispensing pattern for melatonin supplements was pharmacists’ recommendation (p = 0.003), which is an over-the-counter sublingual (34.2%) with a 5 mg strength (57.5%). However, our study revealed that many pharmacists dispensing melatonin supplements believed it safe (p < 0.001) and they were unaware of side effects. Furthermore, the study showed the importance of pharmacists’ awareness in preventing and controlling the side effects of melatonin supplements. Conclusion: This research highlights the need to properly monitor prescription and distribution processes to avoid abuse, and educational gaps in melatonin supplements. We recommend targeted educational interventions to help Jordanian pharmacists improve safe practices and the health of patients and drug users.
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