Community pharmacists ʼ competence on correct inhaler techniques in Benghazi, Libya.

Background: The inadequate use of inhaled therapy leads to poor control of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease management. Pharmacists are in the best position to educate patients about the correct use of inhalers. This study aimed to evaluate the community pharmacists’ competence on the appropriate use of inhalers in Benghazi, Libya. Method: A cross sectional survey was conducted among community pharmacists from January to February 2022 in Benghazi using a self-administered questionnaire consisted of two sections: demographic data and checklists to assess the correct application of Ventolin® and Diskus® inhalers. Results: This study revealed that only a small proportion of participants had previous training on the use of two devices. According to the assessment criterion of Ventolin® and Diskus® inhaler techniques, only 10.6% and 34.1% of respondents had performed all the critical steps correctly with a total score of 7 or above respectively. The least correctly demonstrated steps were step 4 of Ventolin® (tilt the head back slightly) 10.8% and step 8 of Diskus® (breathe out slowly away from the mouthpiece) 14.9%. Gender had no significant association with competence of adequate inhaler techniques of Diskus® (p-value = 0.05) and Ventolin® (p-value = 0.858). To the contrary, other variables such as work experience and previous training on inhalation techniques had influence on ability of respondents to demonstrate the correct techniques of Ventolin® with p-value = (0.003, 0.000) and Diskus® with p-value = (0.017, 0.000) respectively. Conclusion: There was poor competence among community pharmacists in using Ventolin® and Diskus® inhalers. Indicating the need for implementing regular training programs for healthcare providers particularly pharmacists to enable them educate their patients.