Abstract
Background Community pharmacies provide an important healthcare service. Their significant value has been further highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Objectives To identify and categorize potential barriers and facilitators to the role of community pharmacists during the pandemic and their association with demographic factors. Methods A cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire during April 2020 across all regions of Egypt. Key findings Respondents (n = 1018; 98.4% response rate) revealed practical and psychological barriers, including inadequate levels of pandemic preparedness (mean 61.43%; +/- SD 0.47), inadequate working environments (mean 56.23%; +/- SD 0.49) and uncooperative behaviour from stakeholders (mean 65.3%; +/- SD 0.47).The majority of respondents emphasized the universal, region-independent necessity for facilitators, including the availability of timely (94.9%) guidance (97.4%) published by the Egyptian healthcare authority (94.6%), in electronic format (82.1%), through smartphone application (80.0%) and the provision of a dedicated telephone hotline (89.5%). Furthermore, authorities must use the media to manage public perceptions (97.2%) and increase public trust (94.8%) towards the pharmacist. Conclusions The barriers and facilitators identified herein could improve service provision in an integrated manner by overcoming the reported inadequate level of preparedness (barrier) through the provision of electronic guidance (facilitator), and the use of the media in managing public perceptions and trust (facilitators) to reduce the panic that negatively affects the working environment (barrier) for pharmacy staff. The varied level of healthcare authority cooperation reported in many regions requires further investigation.