Community Pharmacy Based Model for HIV Care and Services: Attitudes and Perceptions of Practitioners in Jos, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Differentiated care is an innovative multi-dimensional strategy for improving access to HIV care and treatment outcomes. However, its successful implementation depends on attitudes and perceptions of practitioners. Objectives: This study assessed the attitudes and perception of community pharmacists on HIV differentiated care and services. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists in Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria. The portion of the study reported in this paper consisted of a 10 items Likert questions to assess attitudes and perceptions of community pharmacists on differentiated HIV care and services. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 was used to manage data. The reliability of the instrument was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha. Descriptive statistics were presented as tables and figures. Results: Seventy-three 73 community pharmacists completed our questionnaire out of 110 distributed, giving a response rate of 66.4%. Mean age of respondents was 37.7+7.8 years. Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency of the perception scale was 0.9 indicating good reliability of the instrument. Overall, respondents had a positive perception regarding suitability and benefits of differentiated HIV care and services in community pharmacies. Highest agreement was to the perception that differentiated care would encourage collaboration between community pharmacies and the rest of the health system. Conclusion: Willingness and positive perceptions of community pharmacists about the suitability and benefits of providing HIV differentiated care and services were identified.