Evaluation of counseling services provided by community pharmacists and patients' satisfaction toward their services: A cross-sectional survey from Sudan

Background: Patient counseling is an integral part of the pharmacy services provided in community pharmacies, and it can be used as a tool to determine the quality of health care. This study aimed to evaluate the community pharmacists' counseling services and determine patients' satisfaction toward these services. Methodology: This study was a descriptive, community-based cross-sectional study in the Sudanese population from March 2020 to June 2020. One thousand nine participants responded to the questionnaire. A convenience sampling method was used to collect the data. Data were collected using an online predesigned standardized questionnaire and then analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results: It was found that most of the participants (78.4%) were from urban areas. The majority of the participants (84.8%) completed their education until the university level, and 82% of the respondents were aged between 18 and 29 years. Females were 57.1%, and 50.5% of the participants work in the medical field. About 60% (59.9%) of them have never been asked if they had an allergy to certain drugs when they visited the pharmacy and 81.6% did not receive any information about what to do if they missed a dose, whereas 71.6% have never been told about the possible side effects of the drugs they are prescribed. The average score of satisfaction among the participants was 18.24 ± 3.953. It was found that 32.1% and 11.8% of the people involved in the study were satisfied and very satisfied with the pharmacist's counseling services, respectively. Chi-square test revealed that opinion/feedback about the pharmacist and his services was significantly associated with gender, residence, and working in the medical field. Conclusion: More than two-thirds of the participants reported positive feedback toward the community pharmacists and their services. Patient satisfaction was significantly associated with gender, residence, and working in the medical field. Opinion/feedback about the pharmacist and his services was significantly associated with gender, residence, and working in the medical field.