Cancer health promotion in Ghana: A survey of community pharmacists’ perception and barriers

Abstract

Available data indicate that cancer has emerged as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Ghana. Globally, one of the interventions aimed at disease prevention is through health promotion. To our knowledge, there are no published reports examining the practices of community pharmacists towards cancer health promotion in Ghana. This study was set to examine the perception and perceived barriers of community pharmacists in the provision of cancer health promotion services in Ghana.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted using electronic questionnaire to assess the perception and perceived barriers of Ghanaian community pharmacists towards provision of cancer health promotion.

Key findings

The majority of community pharmacists (77.30%) believe that cancer health promotion is an important part of their daily practice. The survey participants were more likely to have a positive perception of the role of the pharmacist if they were older, male, Christian, or had completed the PharmD program (p < 0.05 for all parameters). Lack of cancer educational materials (69%) was the major perceived barrier in providing cancer health promotion services.

Conclusion

Ghanaian community pharmacists recognise to play an important role in the provision of cancer health promotion service.