Jordanian community pharmacist survey identifies dispensing practices and knowledge gaps in weight-management medicines

A cross-sectional survey of 382 community pharmacists across Jordan found reported gaps in knowledge about approved indications for weight-management medicines, alongside frequent prescriptionless dispensing. Among respondents, 57.6% said they dispensed weight-management medications at a patient’s request without a prescription, while 9.4% dispensed them on their own recommendation and 33.0% dispensed them against a prescription.

The online survey was conducted from June to September 2025 in all Jordanian governorates. It targeted licensed pharmacists working in pharmacies or pharmacy chains through social media channels associated with the Jordan Pharmacists Association, and participation was voluntary. The researchers calculated a minimum sample of 380 using a 95% confidence level, a 5% margin of error and an assumed 50% response distribution, based on a population of more than 32,727 licensed pharmacists.

The final instrument contained 52 questions covering participants’ characteristics, experiences, knowledge, attitudes and dispensing practices relating to medicines used for weight management. It was translated into Arabic and back-translated into English. A pilot with 20 community pharmacists assessed its structure and clarity, while internal consistency was acceptable to good for the awareness and attitude domains, with Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.84 and 0.82, respectively. Data were analyzed descriptively and with chi-square tests; a p-value below 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Participants had a mean age of 32.23 years, and 70.7% were women. Most held either a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy or a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, while 7.0% had postgraduate qualifications. Independent pharmacies employed 72.5% of respondents, and 30.9% of participants were pharmacy owners. The mean professional experience was 9.59 years, and participants reported dispensing an average of 32.15 prescriptions per day.

Knowledge was uneven across subjects. When asked whether sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors were effective for weight loss and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for that purpose, 38.1% correctly disagreed and 52.9% incorrectly agreed. The source states that these medicines can produce weight loss, typically of 2% to 4% of body weight, but that neither the FDA nor the Jordan Food and Drug Administration approves them for obesity treatment. Nevertheless, 82.6% of surveyed pharmacists reported recommending SGLT2 inhibitors for weight management.

Respondents more often recognized the role of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists: 88.2% agreed that they are effective for obesity management, and 87.9% agreed that combining one with another weight-management medication is more effective than using it alone. Medical history was another area of stronger agreement, with 77.2% stating that obtaining a comprehensive history was essential before dispensing or recommending GLP-1 receptor agonists or SGLT2 inhibitors. Recognition of gastrointestinal adverse effects, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, was more common than awareness of rarer risks such as pancreatitis and thyroid-related concerns.

Demand and counseling were frequent features of respondents’ reported practice. Overall, 82.7% said they had observed increased demand for weight-management medications over the preceding year, and 92.1% said medication cost influenced patients’ decisions. Side effects were the patient question most often reported by pharmacists, at 49.7%, followed by adherence at 17.8% and correct use at 17.5%. Physical activity and regular exercise were the most frequently recommended accompanying measures, cited by 54.9%, while 44.1% recommended a special diet. The most frequently recommended medicines were orlistat, at 35.2%, metformin, at 22.7%, and semaglutide, at 20.3%; 75.9% identified oral products as the most commonly prescribed dosage form.

Professional characteristics were associated with several reported observations, but the cross-sectional design does not establish causation. Years in practice was associated with perceiving increased demand (p = 0.030), as was the number of pharmacists working per shift (p = 0.004). Age, pharmacy location and staffing per shift were associated with the frequency of weight-management activities. Education level, place of residence, professional experience and staffing per shift were associated with reported observations of patient benefit. Academic studies were the leading source of information for 28.8% of respondents, followed by social media at 23.0% and artificial-intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot at 16.0%.

The researchers interpreted the results as evidence for targeted continuing education, clearer clinical guidelines, stronger regulatory oversight and multidisciplinary collaboration involving pharmacists, physicians, nutritionists and regulatory authorities. They also recommended future longitudinal studies to assess whether educational interventions change pharmacists’ knowledge, confidence and clinical engagement. These conclusions should be read with the study’s limitations: it used a cross-sectional design, voluntary participation and a convenience sample, and all findings were based on self-reported questionnaire data. The sample’s characteristics may limit generalizability to all community pharmacists in Jordan, while self-reporting may introduce recall or reporting bias.

Subject of Research: Community pharmacists’ knowledge and dispensing practices for weight-management medications in Jordan

Article Title: Dispensing practices, knowledge gaps, and educational needs of community pharmacists in Jordan regarding the use of diabetes medications for weight management

Article References: Al-Shawabkeh, J. D., Abulaban, N. M. F., Alsarhan, A. A., Alsawalha, L., Barakat, N. A., Sarayreh, R., Al-Smadi, S., & Da’seh, A. (2026). Dispensing practices, knowledge gaps, and educational needs of community pharmacists in Jordan regarding the use of diabetes medications for weight management. Pharmacia, 73, Article e197960. https://doi.org/10.3897/pharmacia.73.e197960

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/pharmacia.73.e197960

Keywords: Jordan, community pharmacists, weight management, GLP-1 receptor agonists, SGLT2 inhibitors, dispensing practices, pharmacist education, cross-sectional survey, Dispensing, practices, knowledge, gaps