Community pharmacy insurance: Knowledge, attitudes and practices of community pharmacists in Nigeria

Small and medium enterprises in Nigeria face high level of risks, such as fire outbreaks and theft that require proper risk management efforts. The study objectives were to determine insurance knowledge, attitudes and practices of Nigerian community pharmacists and their associated factors. This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey of Nigerian community pharmacists. The study data were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentages and mean) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation test and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses). A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. An overwhelming proportion (90.5%) of the pharmacists had low knowledge, 388 (83.6%) had positive attitudes and 284 (61.2%) had negative practices towards insurance. Age between 23–42 years (AOR 2.6; 95% CI 1.3–5.6) and undergraduate degree as the highest qualification were significant predictors of poor knowledge (AOR 9.6; 95% CI 4.0–23.1), while female gender (AOR 3.1; 95% CI 1.7–5.5), undergraduate degree as the highest qualification (AOR 2.8; 95% CI 1.4-5.5), work seminar on insurance (AOR 17.6; 95% CI 7.1–43.8), and unawareness of insurance companies, products and services (AOR 5.6; 95% CI 2.8–10.9) were significant predictors of negative attitudes towards insurance. In addition, female gender (AOR 2.2; 95% CI 1.4–3.3) and unawareness of insurance companies, products and services (AOR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1–2.9) were significant predictors of negative insurance practices. Most respondents had poor knowledge and negative practices towards community pharmacy insurance. Therefore, targeted interventions from various critical stakeholders are needed to enhance insurance knowledge and promote its uptake among community pharmacists in Nigeria.