Assessing Community Pharmacist Knowledge, Perceptions and attitudes toward trizepatide as a weight mangment medication in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Obesity is a complex, chronic disease and a major public health challenge world-wide, with particularly high prevalence in Saudi Arabia. Effective obesity management typ-ically involves a combination of lifestyle modification and pharmacological treatment. Tir-zepatide is one of the newer emerging medications approved for the treatment of type 2 dia-betes mellitus; however, it has recently been used for weight management. Previous studies have demonstrated that tirzepatide is an effective and safe treatment option for obesity. Nevertheless, the successful integration of such therapies into clinical practice largely de-pends on healthcare providers’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions, particularly among community pharmacists who play an essential role in patient counseling and medication management. This study aimed to measure the association between these factors and phar-macists’ confidence levels by applying the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions on Con-fidence Level framework. A cross-sectional survey design was used to assess the relation-ship between knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions, and community pharmacists' confi-dence in counseling patients on the use of tirzepatide for weight management. The results demonstrated that community pharmacists had a relatively high level of knowledge (76.1%) and generally positive attitudes toward tirzepatide as a weight management medication. These findings suggest that pharmacists are aware of the therapeutic value of tirzepatide and are open to its role in obesity management. However, perceptions were not significantly associated with confidence level. In addition, most pharmacists (58%) reported low to moderate confidence in counseling patients about tirzepatide. This finding may be explained by the relatively recent introduction of tirzepatide, limited practical experience, and the need for further training and clinical guidance. In conclusion, although community pharmacists showed satisfactory knowledge and positive attitudes toward tirzepatide, their confidence in counseling patients remained limited. These findings highlight the importance of targeted educational interventions and professional development programs to improve pharmacists’ confidence and support the safe and effective use of tirzepatide in obesity management.