Provision of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Community Pharmacies: A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Structures and Processes in Jos, Nigeria

Background: Community pharmacies are located close to the people, open long hours and weekends, making them ideal for provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, as a means of enhancing access and achieving universal coverage. However, structures (encompassing facilities and resources such as funds, private counselling space, number and qualification of staff) and processes (denoting actual activities undertaken such as: client screening, counselling, mechanisms for referral and collaboration with other healthcare professional) determine the suitability and capacity of community pharmacies to deliver quality SRH services.

Objective: To assess the structures and processes of SRH services in community pharmacies in Jos, Nigeria.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of staff in 63 community pharmacies of Jos metropolis, Plateau state, Nigeria. Three hundred and ten copies of the questionnaire were distributed to consenting participants. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) ® version 21 was used to manage data. Results were presented as descriptive statistics for structures and processes of SRH in the study population.

Results: A total of 296 completed questionnaires were retrieved. Eighty-two percent of respondents reported providing SRH services, which was mainly the sale of family planning (FP) products and counselling. Majority of these services 75%, were only offered on clients’ demand. SRH products sold were mainly oral contraceptive pills and the male condom. In terms of processes, about half (49.7%) of the respondents reported offering SRH services in collaboration with other health care providers, mainly in primary health care centres and private clinics. However, only a small proportion of the staff had any formal SRH specific training.

Conclusion: The composition and qualification of mix of staff in community pharmacies presented some inherent weaknesses in their capacity to deliver quality and effective SRH services. This may impede the desired goal of promoting wider access and achieving universal coverage of SRH services.