The main pharmaceutical guidance on women’s comprehensive health: a cross-sectional study based on a survey

Abstract

Pharmacists are present in several important health settings, but it is still necessary to understand their role in providing guidance on women’s comprehensive health, as well as the gaps in providing care to this group. In this context, the objective of the present study was to describe the provision of pharmaceutical guidance on women’s health and associated factors. This is a cross-sectional study, based on the responses of pharmaceutical professionals working in Minas Gerais to an electronic survey, applied in 2021. Questions relating to the provision of guidance on women’s health, doubts about the topic, profile of professionals and the work environment were explored. Factors associated with providing guidance/service were evaluated using uni and multivariate analyses. A majority of women (83.6%), with white skin color (60.4%) and working in private or public pharmacies (60.2%) was identified. The majority of responding professionals reported providing guidance on women’s health (72.3%), which was positively associated with the availability of a pharmaceutical office, working in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte; and negatively associated with postgraduate completion. The most addressed topics in pharmaceutical guidance and the most frequent doubts reported by the pharmacists involved sexual and reproductive health. The identified scenario points to a representative role of pharmacists in the context of guidance/service aimed at women’s health. However, it also highlights points that should be enhanced, based on doubts and associated factors, to further narrow the gap between pharmaceutical performance and women’s health demands.