Hospital pharmacists’ self-evaluation of their competence and confidence in conducting pharmacy practice research

Ahmed Awaisu, Dana Bakdach, Reem Hasan Elajez, Manal Zaidan

Research is essential to the advancement of pharmacy practice and healthcare. Pharmacists have a pivotal role to play in this strategy. However, there is a paucity of data about hospital pharmacists' competence and ability in conducting health-related research. This study primarily aims to determine the research demographics of hospital pharmacists in Qatar and to assess the pharmacists' perceptions of their competence and confidence to conduct research. A multi-centered survey using a 70-item piloted questionnaire was conducted among a randomly selected sample of pharmacists practicing at seven Hamad Medical Corporation-managed hospitals. Both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were applied using IBM-SPSS® version 20. A total of 120 participants responded to the survey (67% response rate). About 70% of the participants did not have any previous research experience. At least 20% of the respondents self-reported inadequate competence and/or confidence in developing research protocols, critically appraising the literature, undertaking and applying appropriate statistical techniques, and interpreting research findings. The level of education along with the current hospital of practice had significant effects on pharmacists' self-assessed competence (p < 0.05). Overall, 85% of the participants were interested in pursuing postgraduate studies or research-related training. A large proportion of hospital pharmacists in Qatar self-assessed themselves as having deficiencies in several domains of research process or competencies, although they recognized the value of research in advancing pharmacy practice. These findings have important implications for developing informal research training programs and promoting the pursuit of formal postgraduate programs to bridge the knowledge gaps found among hospital-practicing pharmacists.