Geriatric clients’ satisfaction with pharmaceutical care services among community pharmacies in Ilorin, North-Central, Nigeria

Background: Client satisfaction in community pharmacies is an essential fundamental indicator of the effectiveness, viability, and sustainability of any healthcare system. Pharmaceutical care for geriatric patients requires a specialized approach as a result of multi-morbidities and subsequent polypharmacy. This study is aimed at evaluating the satisfaction of geriatric clients with community pharmacy services in Ilorin, North-central, Nigeria.

Methods: This is a multi-site, cross-sectional study that was conducted in five licensed community pharmacies in Ilorin, between March and June 2023 with ethical approval. Using convenience sampling, a total of 308 consented clients were enrolled. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic parameters and their opinions on several aspects of pharmaceutical care services in community pharmacies. Clients’ satisfaction was analysed appropriately.

Results: The mean age of the clients was 64 years. The most prevalent chronic disease among the clients was cardiovascular disorders 115(37.3%). Most of the clients, 283(91.9%) agreed that pharmacists were regularly available at the pharmacies. All clients 308 (100.0%) agreed that they were satisfied with the pharmacist conduct and the quality of services offered in the community pharmacies. Although few clients, 54(17.5%) requested that the pharmacist should provide them with proper information on the storage of their medications. There was a statistically significant (P < 0.05) between the level of education and willingness to pay for the pharmaceutical care interventions.

Conclusion: Geriatric clients were satisfied with the pharmacists' accessibility and availability and pharmacists efforts at resolving their medication therapy problems. However, the pharmacists' medication information management was less satisfactory.