Assessment of Pharmacists Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Herbal Drug Information Services

RATIONAL Research suggests that increased consumption of herbal drugs is raising important public health concerns such as safety issues that may involve adverse effects and herb-drug interactions. The main objective of this study is to investigate the role of Pharmacists in herbal drug information dissemination. METHOD We investigated the demographics, knowledge, attitude and practices regarding herbal drug information and regulatory laws among Pharmacists living in the six (6) States that constitute the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. A total of 300 self-administered questionnaires were distributed to Pharmacists aged 21 years and above. FINDINGS About half of the respondents (48.72 %) were Hospital based Pharmacists. Knowledge of herbal drugs was 46.33 % while 64 .0 % showed positive attitude towards its use. Most of the information on herbal drugs were sourced from the internet (23.08 %) while 53.48 % were aware of the laws and regulations controlling herbal drugs in Nigeria. 88.64 % were in favour of the establishment of a National Herbal Drug Research and Development Agency and 55.68 % strongly agreeing to the setting up of a Herbal Drug Information Centre. CONCLUSION The availability of herbal drug information services will not only enhance the performance of the Pharmacists, but will also add value to the life of the patients.