Consumer's Satisfaction with Community Pharmacies in Sindh, Pakistan

OBJECTIVE: The present research is the first comprehensive cross-sectional study of consumer satisfaction with community pharmacies in Sindh, Pakistan. Moreover, the study has also designed a nonorder theoretical model for consumer satisfaction with community pharmacies.

METHODS: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study from a general population of Sindh, Pakistan, with a total of four hundred and fifteen (n = 415) participants. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to verify the factor structure between Pharmaceutical services (PS), the Skill of Pharmacists, Non-pharmaceutical services (NPS), and pricing (P). Pearson correlation analysis, Kendall's tau correlation analysis, and Spearman's rho correlation analysis were used to identify the correlation between different factors, such as PS, SKP, NPS, and P.

FINDINGS: The 23-item scale that consisted of four elements have shown an acceptable root mean squared error of approximation (0.076), Cronbach's alpha (0.787), and Chi-square value (3.381) (P < 0.001). Of the respondents, 56.4% rated their satisfaction on pharmacist attitude, whereas 67.2%, 41.4%, and 51.8% were satisfied with other services, such as receipt provided on medication they take, prescription drug service and availability of pharmacies on the weekend and public holidays, respectively.

CONCLUSION: This cross-sectional study confirms that there are relationships among PS, SPK, NPS, and P. Moreover, there is a lack of facilities in community pharmacies in Sindh, such as the unavailability of a consultation room, immunization services, information on routine health matters, and medication record.