Table 1.
Study population characteristics of Estonian (N=84) and Finnish (N=154) respondents.
| Characteristics | Estonian respondents, n (%) | Finnish respondents, n (%) | |
| Sex | |||
|
|
Female | N/Aa | 129 (83.8) |
|
|
Male | N/A | 22 (14.3) |
|
|
Would not like to specify | N/A | 3 (1.9) |
| Age (years) | |||
|
|
≤29 | 16 (19) | 29 (18.8) |
|
|
30 to 39 | 25 (29.8) | 30 (19.5) |
|
|
40 to 49 | 15 (17.9) | 50 (32.5) |
|
|
50 to 59 | 23 (27.4) | 37 (24) |
|
|
≥60 | 5 (6) | 8 (5.2) |
| Position within the pharmacyb | |||
|
|
Dispenser or assistant pharmacist | 17 (20.2) | 91 (59.1) |
|
|
Pharmacist | 31 (36.9) | 45 (29.2) |
|
|
Pharmacy manager | 28 (33.3) | 4 (2.6) |
|
|
Pharmacy owner | 8 (9.5) | 14 (9.1) |
| Length of employment in community pharmacy (years) | |||
|
|
<1 | 4 (4.8) | 4 (2.6) |
|
|
1 to 5 | 13 (15.5) | 28 (18.2) |
|
|
6 to 10 | 19 (22.6) | 25 (16.2) |
|
|
11 to 20 | 18 (21.4) | 47 (30.5) |
|
|
>20 | 30 (35.7) | 50 (32.5) |
| Frequency of dispensing CBePsc by the pharmacistsd | |||
|
|
No CBePs dispensed in 2020 | 1 (1.2) | 27 (17.5) |
|
|
Less than once a month | 51 (60.7) | 118 (76.6) |
|
|
About once a month | 14 (16.7) | 7 (4.5) |
|
|
A few times a month | 11 (13.1) | 1 (0.6) |
|
|
About once a week | 6 (7.1) | 1 (0.6) |
|
|
Daily or almost daily | 1 (1.2) | 0 (0) |
aN/A: not applicable (the Estonian questionnaire did not include the question about the sex of the respondent to maintain their anonymity).
bStaff in Finnish community pharmacies consist of the pharmacy owner or pharmacy manager; pharmacists; dispensers; and other pharmacy staff, such as pharmacy technicians. Staff in Estonian community pharmacies consist of the pharmacy owner and pharmacy manager; pharmacists; assistant pharmacists; and other pharmacy staff, such as customer assistants. A pharmacy owner, manager, and pharmacist have 5 years of education (MSc) at a university; a dispenser has 3 years of education (BSc) at a university; and an assistant pharmacist has 3 years of education (equal to a bachelor’s degree) at a higher education institution. Both pharmacists and dispensers or assistant pharmacists are licensed pharmacy practitioners who dispense medications independently and ensure the safe and proper use of medications among the public.
cCBeP: cross-border electronic prescription.
dStatistical significance was tested with a chi-square test (P<.001).