Pharmacy practice and clinical pharmacy research in the Middle East: a scoping review of studies from Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen

Background: Pharmacy practice research publications has increased significantly in the last decade. This is also true for Middle Eastern countries. Aims: The aim of this study was to document and review pharmacy practice literature in the Middle Eastern Arab countries. Materials and methods: A scoping review was conducted using PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Medline/PubMed and Scopus were used to screen the articles. All published original research articles concerning any facet of pharmacy practice in 12 Arabic Middle Eastern countries during 2009–2019 were included. A thematic analysis was performed to classify the articles. Results: Nine hundred and eighty-one articles were included in this study. Eight themes emerged from the selected articles. Medication use was the predominant theme 30.78% (302), followed by pharmacy practice and pharmacist services 22.94% (225), and then pharmacy education and professional development 16.31% (160). The KSA, Jordan, Qatar, and the UAE were the leading countries to publish pharmacy practice research. Conclusions: Pharmacy practice research is growing and significantly adding to enhance pharmaceutical health services in the Middle East Region. There is a need to develop a research agenda. This will help in enriching the practice, as well as to avoid repetitive ideas.