Community Pharmacists' Attitudes Toward Palliative Care: An Australian Nationwide Survey

O’Connor, Moira; Hewitt, Lauren Y.; Tuffin, Penelope

doi:10.1089/jpm.2013.0171

Cited by 23 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Referral from community pharmacies or the hospital outpatient pharmacy resulted in only a small number of patients identified. This may have been due to concerns about potentially difficult conversations with patients with advanced cancer or lack of access to patient records, which has been found to be a barrier for community pharmacists talking to this patient group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating recruitment methods of patients with advanced cancer: a pragmatic opportunistic comparison

Edwards

Bennett

Petty

et al. 2019

International Journal of Pharmacy Practice

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Background Recruitment of patients with advanced cancer into studies is challenging. Objective To evaluate recruitment methods in a study of pharmacist‐led cancer pain medicine consultations and produce recommendations for future studies. Method Two methods of recruitment were employed: (1) community‐based (general practitioner computer search, identification by general practitioner, community pharmacist or district nurse and hospital outpatient list search) and (2) hospice‐based (in and outpatient list search). Patients identified in method 1 were invited by post and in method 2 were invited face‐to‐face. Information was designed in collaboration with patients and carers. Results A total of 128 patients were identified (85 from the community and 43 from the hospice), and 47 met the inclusion criteria. Twenty‐three agreed to take part and 19 completed the study, 17 of whom were already under specialist palliative care. Recruitment rates were 7% for community‐based methods and 40% for hospice. The recruitment methods differed in intensity of resource use. Recruitment via letter and a lack of engagement by healthcare professionals were found to be barriers. Facilitators included the researcher having personal involvement in recruitment. Conclusion The overall recruitment rate was in line with other studies for this patient cohort. Attempts to identify and engage patients through community‐based postal contact were less effective than where personal contact with patients was both possible and occurred. Methods were less successful at recruiting patients who were not already engaged with hospice services.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating recruitment methods of patients with advanced cancer: a pragmatic opportunistic comparison

Edwards

Bennett

Petty

et al. 2019

International Journal of Pharmacy Practice

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“…This is in line with findings from a previous knowledge‐based study where nurses were found to know the most, followed by GPs and pharmacists with regard to pain assessment in palliative care (Furstenburg et al., ). Several other studies have also demonstrated a need for further pharmacist training in palliative care knowledge and issues surrounding difficult conversations (Borgsteede, Rhodius, Pasman, Onwuteaka‐Philipsen, & Rurup, ; Hussainy et al., ; O'Connor et al., ; Savage et al., ). Where pharmacists have been trained to provide community palliative care services in Scotland, healthcare professionals saw them as their “first port of call” for information about palliative medicines (Akram, Dunlop Corcoran, MacRobbie, Harrington, & Bennie, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…tations are now carried out on a routine basis with palliative care patients in another area of West Yorkshire (Middleton-Green et al, 2016). There was a gap between the theoretical acceptability and the likelihood of actually using a medicines consultation service in the future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on community pharmacists’ views about providing services for patients with cancer indicates a perceived lack of knowledge and need for training (O'Connor, Hewitt, & Tuffin, ; Savage et al., ). However, little research has investigated how patients with advanced cancer use community pharmacies and attitudes towards having medicines consultations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How do patients with cancer pain view community pharmacy services? An interview study

Edwards

Blenkinsopp

Ziegler

et al. 2018

Health Soc Care Community

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Pain experienced by many patients with advanced cancer is often not well controlled and community pharmacists are potentially well placed to provide support. The study objective was to explore the views and experiences of patients with advanced cancer about community pharmacies, their services and attitudes towards having a community pharmacist pain medicines consultation. Purposive sampling of GP clinical information systems was used to recruit patients with advanced cancer, living in the community and receiving opioid analgesics in one area of England, UK between January 2015 and July 2016. Thirteen patients had a semi-structured interview which was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed deductively and inductively using Framework analysis and incorporating new themes as they emerged. The framework comprised Pain management, Experiences and expectations, Access to care and Communication. All patients reported using one regular community pharmacy citing convenience, service and staff friendliness as influential factors. The idea of a community pharmacy medicines consultation was acceptable to most patients. The idea of telephone consultations was positively received but electronic media such as Skype was not feasible or acceptable for most. Patients perceived a hierarchy of health professionals with specialist palliative care nurses at the top (due to their combined knowledge of their condition and medicines) followed by GPs then pharmacists. Patients receiving specialist palliative care described pain that was better controlled than those who were not. They thought medicines consultations with a pharmacist could be useful for patients before referral for palliative care. There is a need for pain medicines support for patients with advanced cancer, and unmet need appears greater for those not under the care of specialist services. Medicines consultations, in principle, are acceptable to patients both in person and by telephone, and the latter was perceived to be of particular benefit to patients less able to leave the house.

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“…However, in most developing countries, palliative care is still an emerging medical specialty that require healthcare providers' contribution and participation [24][25][26][27]. In Nigeria for instance, palliative care is in its early stage of development [9,24,25,27], with services mainly limited to patients who attend the tertiary hospitals [24], while pharmacists were recognized among the least considered member of the healthcare team providing palliative care service [27][28][29][30]. In addition, the Benchmark for Minimum Academic Standard from the two major regulatory agencies for pharmacy education in Nigeria, that is the National Universities Commission and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria does not include aspects on palliative care in the curriculum contents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and involvement in palliative care in selected tertiary hospitals in southwestern Nigeria

Adisa

Anifowose

2019

BMC Palliat Care

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Background: The growing number of people living with life-limiting illness is a global health concern. This study therefore aimed to explore the involvement of pharmacists in selected tertiary hospitals in Nigeria in palliative care (PC). It also sought to evaluate their knowledge and attitude to PC as well as factors that hinder pharmacists' participation in PC. Method: Questionnaire-guided survey among pharmacists working in three-tertiary hospitals in southwestern Nigeria. The self-administered questionnaire comprised 18-item general knowledge questions related to PC, attitude statements with 5-point Likert-scale options and question-items that clarify extent of involvement in PC and barriers to participation. Overall score by pharmacists in the knowledge and attitude domains developed for the purpose of this study was assigned into binary categories of "adequate" and "inadequate" knowledge (score > 75% versus≤75%), as well as "positive" and "negative" attitude (ranked score > 75% versus≤75%), respectively. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney-U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for analysis at p < 0.05. Results: All the 110 pharmacists enrolled responded to the questionnaire, given a response rate of 100%. Overall, our study showed that 23(21.1%) had adequate general knowledge in PC, while 14(12.8%) demonstrated positive attitude, with 45(41.3%) who enjoyed working in PC. Counselling on therapy adherence (100;90.9%) was the most frequently engaged activity by pharmacists; attending clinical meetings to advise health team members (45;40.9%) and giving educational sessions (47;42.7%) were largely cited as occasionally performed duties, while patient home visit was mostly cited (60;54.5%) as a duty not done at all. Pharmacists' unawareness of their need in PC (86;79.6%) was a major factor hindering participation, while pharmacists with PC training significantly felt more relaxed around people receiving PC compared to those without training (p = 0.003). Conclusion: Hospital pharmacists in selected tertiary care institutions demonstrate inadequate knowledge, as well as negative attitude towards PC. Also, extent of involvement in core PC service is generally low, with pharmacists' unawareness of their need in PC constituting a major barrier. Thus, a need for inclusion of PC concept into pharmacy education curriculum, while mandatory professional development programme for pharmacists should also incorporate aspects detailing fundamental principles of PC, in order to bridge the knowledge and practice gaps.

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Community Pharmacists' Attitudes Toward Palliative Care: An Australian Nationwide Survey

Cited by 23 publications

References 22 publications

Evaluating recruitment methods of patients with advanced cancer: a pragmatic opportunistic comparison

Evaluating recruitment methods of patients with advanced cancer: a pragmatic opportunistic comparison

How do patients with cancer pain view community pharmacy services? An interview study

Pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and involvement in palliative care in selected tertiary hospitals in southwestern Nigeria

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