Consumer perspectives on pharmacy staff roles in providing oral health services in Australia

Abstract

Australian and international findings report pharmacy staff are motivated to expand and undertake new roles in public health and expressed a strong interest in providing oral healthcare services to the community. We sought to describe consumer experiences within primary oral healthcare, and views about pharmacy staff roles and boundaries in providing oral health services as perceived by a sample of consumers living within metropolitan Australia. Sampling occurred purposively to enable diverse perspectives on the topic. Socioeconomic status, as defined by the Socio-Economic Index for Areas, was used as the primary criteria to stratify focus group recruitment.Thematic, in-depth analysis of focus group discussions was carried out. In all, 34 participants took part in six focus groups, held in metropolitan settings in Queensland, Australia. Findings show that consumers supported pharmacy staff performing noninvasive oral health services including providing oral health education and advice, reviewing medications and recommending evidence-based medications. As services became more invasive (i.e., oral screening and fluoride application), questions and concerns were raised around the appropriateness of the community pharmacy setting and the level of training of pharmacy staff to provide these services. This study identifies the need to support greater integration of oral healthcare roles by community pharmacy staff. Future innovative and collaborative research involving additional stakeholder groups are necessary to explore, develop and test the feasibility and effectiveness of pharmacy-led oral healthcare models. K E Y W O R D Sdelivery of oral healthcare, integrated care, interprofessional relations, pharmacy staff, primary healthcare

A scoping review of pharmacy participation in dental and oral health care

“…13,[74][75][76] Consumers were generally positive about receiving advice from pharmacy staff. 64,78 This is consistent with findings from a systematic review by Eades et al; consumers reported high satisfaction with public health services offered by pharmacy staff although they did not expect such services. 96 Community awareness of pharmacy professionals as broader public health providers should be improved, 97 and extended to include DOHC.…”

“…A small number of studies explored consumer perspectives and whether they accessed community pharmacies for DOHC and/or advice 13,74‐76 . Consumers were generally positive about receiving advice from pharmacy staff 64,78 . This is consistent with findings from a systematic review by Eades et al; 96 consumers reported high satisfaction with public health services offered by pharmacy staff although they did not expect such services.…”

“…However, UK consumers, GPs and specialists agreed that pharmacists had a role in DOHC, such as educating consumers, 65 undertaking medication reviews and counselling on safe and effective medicine use 40,73 . Focus groups involving 34 Australian adults showed support for the pharmacist's role in DOHC, with an emphasis on further education or training for oral health screening and providing dental fluoride varnish 78 …”

“…40,73 Focus groups involving 34 Australian adults showed support for the pharmacist's role in DOHC, with an emphasis on further education or training for oral health screening and providing dental fluoride varnish. 78…”

Assessing the Relative Importance of Key Quality of Life Dimensions for People With and Without a Disability: an Empirical Ranking Comparison Study.

“…According to their residential postcode, respondents from both surveyed groups were assigned a SEIFA Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage score (18). Respondents were then placed into the following groups of advantage according to their score: Low (1-4), Medium (5-7) and High (8-10) (19,20).…”