title: A qualitative assessment of West Virginia pharmacist activities and attitude in diabetes management.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The role of pharmacists in chronic disease state management has been shown to significantly improve patient health outcomes and reduce overall health care costs. The current study is designed to assess the roles and attitudes of West Virginia (WV) pharmacists toward diabetes, evaluate services provided, address pharmacist clinical understanding and training, and demonstrate the challenges that limit pharmacists ability to deliver an efficient disease state management.
  
  
  METHODS
  We invited 435 preceptors affiliated with the University of Charleston School of Pharmacy to participate in the study using Qualtrics online survey software. The survey was divided into sections related to pharmacists, practice environment, pharmacist's roles in diabetes management, and challenges faced that limit their ability to deliver effective care to diabetic patients. Data were analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance, and a P value ≤.05 was considered statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of all eligible invited preceptors, 104 accessed the online survey based on the Qualtrics tracking tool, while 58 participated in the survey with a 56% response rate. Generally, WV pharmacists have positive attitudes regarding the provision of primary activities related to drug use and its associated problems. However, we report that WV pharmacists are less involved in providing education or recommendations regarding diabetes-associated risk factors such as nephropathy, retinopathy, foot care, and gastroparesis. In addition, the majority of pharmacists indicated that they face many challenges related to patient and the practice site environment that limit their ability to provide optimum diabetes patient care services.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the mounting evidence that pharmacists can improve diabetic patient outcomes while significantly reducing overall costs, WV pharmacists are less involved in providing education or counseling in a variety of areas related to disease state management. In addition, identifying pharmacist challenges provides significant information for future planning toward improving diabetic patient care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, University of Charleston School of Pharmacy, Charleston, West Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Aymen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shatnawi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, University of Charleston School of Pharmacy, Charleston, West Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Latif
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000628:therapy*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D054539:Medication Therapy Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000523:psychology*; D024382:Professional Role; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014903:West Virginia
keywords: West Virginia; attitude; diabetes; pharmacist; preceptors