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Exploring Volunteer Pharmacists’ Experiences in Responding to 2023 Türkiye Earthquakes: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2024

Mehmet Barlas Uzun Open the ORCID record for Mehmet Barlas Uzun [Opens in a new window] ,
Gizem Gülpınar Open the ORCID record for Gizem Gülpınar [Opens in a new window]  and
Ayesha Iqbal Open the ORCID record for Ayesha Iqbal [Opens in a new window]
Mehmet Barlas Uzun
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy Management, Faculty of Gülhane Pharmacy, Sağlık Bilimleri University, Ankara, Türkiye
Gizem Gülpınar*
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy Management, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, Ankara, Türkiye
Ayesha Iqbal
Affiliation:
Office of Lifelong Learning and the Physician Learning Program, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
*
Corresponding author: Gizem Gülpınar; Email: gizemgulpinar@gazi.edu.tr.
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Abstract

Objective:

Pharmacists are vital in disaster response efforts, dispensing essential medications, managing pharmacy services, consulting, and educating survivors regarding their medications. Their contributions, however, are often underrepresented in scientific literature. This study aimed to explore the experiences of pharmacists who provided pharmacy services to meet the pharmaceutical needs of the survivors after 2 major earthquakes in Türkiye in 2023.

Methods:

This study adopted a phenomenological approach. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to invite pharmacists who provided pharmacy services to survivors. Interview transcripts were analyzed following an inductive, reflexive thematic analysis.

Results:

In total, 15 pharmacists were interviewed. Four main overarching themes “response to the earthquake,” “preparedness for the earthquake,” “experiences during service delivery,” and “mental and physical experiences” were developed.

Conclusions:

From participants’ experiences, it is essential to expand the clinical responsibilities of pharmacists and train them in providing wound care, administering immunization, and prescribing. Pharmacists should be integrated as essential members of disaster health teams. International health organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and governments are encouraged to work collaboratively and develop disaster management plans including pharmacists in early responders. This might help mitigate the deficiencies and overcome challenges in health-care systems to provide effective patient-centered care by health professionals and respond effectively to disasters.

Keywords

disastersearthquakespharmacyemergency respondershealth systems plan
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 18 , 2024 , e60
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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