Public attitudes towards community pharmacy attributes and preferences for methods for promotion of public health services

Abstract

Objective: To identify attitudes towards pharmacy characteristics and promotional methods for selected pharmacy public health services (lifestyle advice and screening for cardiovascular risk factors) among different sectors of the general public. Study design:Cross-sectional survey, using a previously validated questionnaire.Methods: Three survey methods were used, across 15 areas of England, to maximise diversity: face-to-face, telephone and self-completion of paper questionnaires. Responses to closed questions regarding characteristics and promotion were quantified and differences among sub-groups explored by univariate and multivariate analysis. Results:In total, 2,661 responses were available for analysis: 2,047 face-to-face, 301 telephone and 313 paper. There were strong preferences for a pharmacy near to home or doctor's surgery and for long opening hours, particularly among employed people and nonwhites. Fifty percent preferred not to use a pharmacy in a supermarket, particularly older people, the retired, those of lower education and frequent pharmacy users. Personal recommendation by health professionals or family/friends was reported as most likely to encourage uptake of pharmacy public health services, with older people and males being less likely and frequent pharmacy users more likely perceive any promotional method as influential. Posters/leaflets were preferred over mass media methods, with fewer than 30% perceiving the latter as potentially influential. Conclusion:Pharmacists, pharmacy companies and service commissioners should use promotional methods favoured by potential users of pharmacy public health services and be aware of differences in attitudes when trying to reach specific population sub-groups. For personal recommendation to be successful good inter-professional working and a pro-active approach to existing customers are needed.

Public views of different sources of health advice:pharmacists, social media and mobile health applications

“…While few had used any pharmacy PH services, many were willing to use them once they became aware of what was offered. This echoes other studies that have shown that pharmacy services are not fully utilised and are not well advertised …”

“…This echoes other studies that have shown that pharmacy services are not fully utilised and are not well advertised. [25][26][27] This study has identified that the public are open to the incorporation of digital health tools into pharmacy services, with younger demographics being most keen. They indicated that they found SM health pages and MH apps to be reliable, useful and convenient, a finding noted previously by Cain et al [28] in 2010.…”

Patient and public perspectives of community pharmacies in the United Kingdom: A systematic review

“…Study designs using questionnaires (n = 14, 41%), semi‐structured interviews (n = 8, 24%) and focus groups (n = 6, 18%) made up the vast proportion of studies. Three mixed‐methods studies involved the use of questionnaires and semi‐structured interviews, one combined observations and semi‐structured interviews .…”

“…The remaining 2 studies were discrete choice experiments . Most of the studies (n = 28, 82%) were published from 2010 onwards . Seven studies related to pharmacist prescribing which, although not exclusive to community pharmacy, provides valuable insights into opinions of pharmacists’ extended roles.…”

“…Whilst all but one study mentioned ethical approval, none provided descriptions of the ethical issues such as confidentiality, sensitivity and consent. Potential biases were not reported in 18 studies, and none of the qualitative studies acknowledged interviewer bias/reflexivity. Six studies used a small sample size/localized setting, three inadequately represented the sample population, and one study was limited to one pharmacy .…”