| DOI: 10.29090/psa.2024.01.23.845 | Pharm Sci Asia 2024; 51(1), 74-84 |
Hospital pharmacists’ expertise and cooperation towards antimicrobial stewardship in the Philippines: A qualitative studyJulius Malazarte1, Lou Diane Manila1, Danlled Javier1, Ronesa Marie Parba1, Sharmaine Dela Cruz1, Anna Andrea Sabado2, Rogie Royce Carandang1,3*
1 Adamson University, College of Pharmacy, Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
2 De Los Santos Medical Center, E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
3 Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, USA
Antimicrobial resistance has compromised the existing antibiotic therapies. In response, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs were established to encourage and preserve the sustainable use of antibiotics in hospitals. However, little is known about hospital pharmacists’ expertise and cooperation in AMS programs in low-resource settings, such as the Philippines. The study aimed to explore the hospital pharmacists’ expertise and cooperation in antibiotic use optimization toward AMS practice in the Philippines. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 hospital pharmacists involved in hospitals with AMS programs. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim, and MAXQDA was used to code and manage the data. A thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the qualitative data until theme saturation was reached. Expertise and cooperation are the two main concepts established as the fundamental tenets of AMS practice among hospital pharmacists. The three key themes that emerged under expertise were knowledge, skills, and hands-on experience. Under the cooperation, the four key themes that emerged were AMS advocacy, intraprofessional collaboration, interprofessional relationships, and motivation. Applying formal and tacit knowledge of hospital pharmacists was essential to their clinical roles in AMS. However, interprofessional dynamics and their role definition limit their capacity to propose interventions. There is a need to strengthen hospital pharmacists’ expertise to increase their cooperation in streamlining antibiotics.
Keyword:
Antimicrobial stewardship, Antibiotic use, Hospital pharmacist, Pharmacy practice, Philippines
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