Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud

Introducción: la vacuna antigripal está indicada entre el personal sanitario, aunque la cobertura antigripal en farmacéuticos comunitarios españoles actualmente se desconoce. Este trabajo pretende averiguar esta cobertura, las causas de los farmacéuticos para vacunarse o no de la gripe, el absentismo laboral que les ocasiona, si recomiendan la vacunación antigripal entre los grupos de riesgo y su disposición a administrarla en la farmacia. Métodos: estudio descriptivo transversal mediante un cuestionario online destinado a farmacéuticos comunitarios de toda España. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de las variables estudiadas y de la asociación entre la vacunación y las variables cualitativas (test Chi-cuadrado y Fisher) y cuantitativas (ANOVA). Resultados: se obtuvo una tasa de respuesta del 9,4 % (n=1.436). Los farmacéuticos refirieron vacunarse en torno al 30 % en las tres temporadas estudiadas (2016- 2019), siendo del 31-35,8 % (IC95 %) en la temporada 2018-2019. Ser titular/cotitular de la farmacia, la experiencia profesional, la edad, vacunarse para evitar la gripe y/o por responsabilidad, y vacunarse en temporadas anteriores son factores asociados a vacunarse (p<0,05). Ser socio de SEFAC también lo es. El absentismo por gripe en la temporada 2018-2019 fue del 9,5 %. Los farmacéuticos que más dijeron vacunarse recomiendan más la vacuna que los que no, y tendrían mayor predisposición a administrarla (p<0,05). Conclusiones: la cobertura vacunal antigripal entre los farmacéuticos comunitarios es baja a pesar del absentismo que les causa. Facilitar la vacunación a los farmacéuticos podría incrementar su cobertura. Los farmacéuticos recomiendan la vacunación contra la gripe a los pacientes de riesgo y estarían dispuestos a vacunar en farmacias autorizadas. / Introduction: while the influenza vaccine is indicated for healthcare personnel, its coverage among Spanish community pharmacists is currently unknown. This study aims to quantify this coverage as well as evaluate the causes leading pharmacists to be inoculated or not, their flu-related absenteeism, whether they recommend the vaccine to risk groups, and their willingness to administer it in the pharmacy. Methods: descriptive cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire aimed at community pharmacists throughout Spain. A descriptive analysis of the variables studied and of the association between vaccination and qualitative (Chi-square and Fisher test) and quantitative (ANOVA) variables was performed. Results: a response rate of 9.4% (n=1,436). Pharmacists reported vaccinating around 30 % in the three seasons under study (2016-2019), being 31-35.8% (IC95%) in the 2018-2019 season. Being a pharmacy owner/co-owner, professional experience, age, being vaccinated to avoid influenza and/or for responsibility, and being vaccinated in previous seasons are factors associated with being vaccinated (p<0.05). Being a member of SEFAC is also a factor. Flu-related absenteeism in the 2018-2019 season was 9.5%. Pharmacists who reported being vaccinated themselves were more likely to recommended the vaccine and more likely to administer it (p<0.05). Conclusions: flu vaccination coverage among community pharmacists is low despite the absenteeism this causes. Making vaccination easier for pharmacists could increase coverage. Pharmacists recommend flu vaccination for at-risk patients and would be willing to vaccinate in licensed pharmacies.

Community pharmacists and general practitioners have daily contact with patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but the number of positive cases constantly increases every day. Thus, the aim of this research is to describe the level of AD knowledge among community pharmacists and general practitioners in Spain, in order to see where the biggest gaps in the knowledge are. Therefore, a cross-sectional study has been carried out, using the Alzheimer’s disease knowledge survey (ADKS), among members of the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians and the Spanish Society of Family and Community Pharmacy to report the differences in AD knowledge in both professional collectives. The ADKS has been responded by 578 community pharmacists and 104 general practitioners and consists of a battery of 30 questions, whose possible answers are true or false. It assesses the AD knowledge in seven areas (impact on the disease, risk factors, course of the disease, diagnosis, care, treatment and symptoms). Results indicate that Spanish pharmacists and general practitioners have a high personal knowledge of AD, nevertheless, it is not associated with greater awareness. Both scored above 80% at the categories: diagnostic, treatment and symptoms. However, lower knowledge level (60% of correct answers) was found in those related to risk factors, such as the ignorance about hypercholesterolemia or hypertension as risk factors for the disease. Community pharmacists are already acting to control cardiovascular risk factors, but a wider knowledge of the relationship of these factors to AD is needed to act against these silent risk factors. Thus, pharmacists may also be involved in the management of AD that includes recognizing early symptoms for early detection of cognitive impairment. Hence, knowledge about risk factors is very important in developing this expanding role.