Self-reported and the actual involvement of community pharmacy professionals in the management of acute childhood diarrhea in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia: Simulated patient visits and survey study

Acute childhood diarrhea is one of the most common causes of dehydration, and if severe, can potentially lead to death as well. The present study was aimed at evaluating the knowledge and attitudes of community pharmacy professionals towards the management of acute childhood diarrhea and comparing them with their actual practices in Jazan Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A). Simulated patient visits and a cross-sectional survey making use of a 27-item self-report questionnaire were conducted amongst a sample of 303 community pharmacy professionals (51.2 % male and 48.8 % female) with an age range of 25–56 years, between August 1 and December 1, 2021, in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia. Convenience sampling technique was used for the recruitment of the participants. Significant positive correlations were seen between knowledge score (self-report survey) and practice score (simulated patient visit) regarding patients’ history taking (r = 0.65; p