Minimum content of medication counselling for outpatients in North-Western Nigeria—a modified e-Delphi study

Abstract

Abstract Objective The main objective of this study was to conduct a modified e-Delphi study to achieve consensus on the minimum content of medication counselling required by majority of outpatients in North-Western Nigeria. A secondary objective was to collect feedback from the panel members. Methods A two round e-Delphi study was conducted between March and May 2020 with pharmacists working in hospital, community or academic settings in North-Western Nigeria. During the first round, panel members were asked to use a five point scale to rate how important they felt it was to provide information about 17 items during medication counselling. Consensus was defined as any item that 90% or more of respondents rated as ‘essential or important’. Items that did not reach this level of consensus were re-rated again during the second round, where respondents were also asked to rate their level of agreement with nine statements. Key findings Thirty-four panel members completed the first round, while 29 completed the second round. Majority of them (76.5%) had practiced for between 5–10 years. After the first round, eight items achieved consensus, and were retained. After the second round, three of the initially equivocal items also achieved consensus. Majority of respondents believed that a minimum medication counselling standard would be useful for both dispensers and patients. Conclusions Consensus was achieved for 11 of the 17 items rated by the panelists. Feedback received about the research process was also largely positive, with many of them agreeing that the study's proposed outcome would encourage better medication counselling.