Pharmacists as health educators and risk communicators in the early detection of prostate cancer

Breast cancer health promotion in Qatar: a survey of community pharmacists’ interests and needs

“…The breast cancer's knowledge questions were formulated in reference to the American Cancer Society breast cancer early detection guidelines [22]. The other questions were developed based, in part, upon previous surveys that addressed community pharmacists' role in general cancer awareness, and in skin and prostate cancer health promotion [23][24][25].…”

Do Pharmacists Know Which Patients with Bowel Symptoms Should Seek Further Medical Advice? A Survey of Pharmacists Practicing in Community Pharmacy in Western Australia

“…Pharmacists are in a prime position to accept responsibilities of health education, risk communication, and risk detection; however, evidence suggests that this works best when pharmacists have a comprehensive knowledge base in the health area of interest. [21][22][23] Pharmacists have an opportunity to identify clients at risk of significant colorectal pathology and communicate with them the need for referral to a GP. Developing and providing appropriate educational tools and referral guidelines for patients with lower bowel symptoms to pharmacists practicing in the community has the potential to improve referral rates to GPs and, ultimately, patient outcomes.…”

Pharmacists’ views on and experiences with bowel cancer screening kits in Auckland, New Zealand

“…This means that the chances of detecting cancers through OTC sales of FOBT kits are most likely going to be low, especially as participants will be receiving their kits through GPs or clinics. This does not imply that pharmacists should not be involved in screening but suggests rather that pharmacists need to optimise their knowledge if they are involved in cancer screening initiatives . Offering standardised training to all pharmacists may be a feasible option to clarify cancer‐detection rates, develop pharmacists' counselling skills in addressing such a sensitive topic and inform pharmacists of factors that have been shown to affect uptake of screening, such as age, socioeconomic deprivation and gender .…”

“…[17,18] Some UK guidelines suggest that pharmacists should become involved in bowel cancer screening by informing patients about risk factors, healthy lifestyle choices and the interpretation of self-screening test results. [19][20][21] While studies have found that pharmacists were generally positive about getting involved in cancer screening processes, [22,23] pharmacists lacked relevant knowledge to adequately inform and counsel patients about the screening process. [22,24] Often, pharmacists took a conservative approach and referred patients to GPs whenever there was any uncertainty or suspicion of bowel disorder.…”