Predictors of Using Pharmacists as a Medication Safety Information Resource Among Women of Reproductive Age

Mary K Awuonda,1 Ghada Alem,2 Brittany Olbert,3 Medha Reddy,4 Monika Daftary,1 La’Marcus Wingate,1 Earl Ettienne1 1Clinical & Administrative Pharmacy Sciences, Howard University College of Pharmacy, Washington, DC, USA; 2Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia; 3GBMC Healthcare, Towson, MD, USA; 4New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USACorrespondence: Mary K Awuonda, Howard University College of Pharmacy, 2300 4th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20059, USA, Email [email protected]: Medication use during pregnancy is prevalent with notable increases in the use of over-the-counter medications. In this era of information proliferation, it is important to understand where women of reproductive age obtain information on medication safety.Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine the predictive factors associated with the utilization of pharmacists as a medication information safety resource among reproductive age women.Methods: A cross-sectional evaluation of baseline characteristics, collected during an online knowledge intervention study, was conducted among women aged 18– 44 who were living in the United States in 2018 to 2019. Descriptive statistics for all study variables were estimated. Logistic regression analyses were done to assess the predictors of the utilization of pharmacists as a medication safety resource.Results: A total of 210 women of reproductive age were included in the study. The average age was 32.4 ± 6.5 years and the majority were White (69.5%), married (61.4%), and had at least a high school education level (86%). Fifty four percent of participants reported using pharmacists as a medication safety information resource. Findings from the multivariable analyses showed that women who reported difficulty understanding written medical information (p = 0.018) and those who were Black or African American (p = 0.008) had less odds of utilizing pharmacists as a medication information source.Conclusion: Despite pharmacists being one of the most accessible health care professionals on medication information, only 54.3% of women surveyed utilized them as medication information sources. It was also found that women who had difficulty understanding written information and those who were Black or African American were less likely to utilize pharmacists as a medication safety information resource. Findings show opportunities for pharmacists to increase perceived value as medication safety experts among women of childbearing age. Additional studies need to be conducted given the study’s limited generalizability.Keywords: medication safety, women, reproductive age