Exploring community pharmacists’ use of health literacy interventions in their everyday practice

BackgroundLimited health literacy often results in people inadequately understanding medicines-related information and subsequently not taking medicines as prescribed. Using health literacy interventions is important for community pharmacists, as they are increasingly managing long-term conditions. However, there appear to be no previous studies of community pharmacists’ everyday use of health literacy interventions in the UK.ObjectivesTo explore UK community pharmacists’ perspectives on the usability of health literacy interventions in their everyday practice.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with participants, following attendance at health literacy training that included practicing the use of four health literacy interventions (Teach-Back, Chunk and Check, Simple Language and visual aids) and two months experience of attempting to use them in their everyday practice. Participants were pharmacists from community pharmacies in Staffordshire, England who were invited to participate by an email sent to the pharmacy. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the Framework Analysis technique.ResultsFour themes emerged from 11 interviews undertaken: intervention appeal, limitations, adaptations and continued use. Participants reported using all four health literacy interventions in their everyday practice but Teach-Back appeared to be favoured most. Most participants talked about practicing Teach-Back before using it with patients but described it as useable with patients of all ages, without being prohibitively time consuming. Chunk and Check seemed to be viewed as a type of Teach-Back, whilst visual aids were reported as being used in conjunction with Teach Back rather than as a standalone intervention. Participants reported that Simple Language was an easy concept but easily ‘slipped back’ into medical jargon and were challenged to use simple enough words. All participants said they would continue to use all four health literacy interventions.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that with training, community pharmacists can successfully incorporate these four health literacy interventions into their everyday practice.     

Prevalence of hypothyroidism in Finland—a nationwide prescription study

Purpose  

The aim of this study was to estimate the 1-year prevalence of levothyroxine-treated hypothyroidism in Finland.     

Exploring influences on pharmacists’ and students’ ethical reasoning in a changing practice landscape in Australia

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy - Background Practising pharmacists continuously develop their ethical reasoning skills, which evolve with practice experience and exposure to challenging...     

Exploring Botanicals in Indian System of Medicine—Regulatory Perspectives

Abstract

India has a rich heritage of traditional medicine constituting with its different components like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani and traditional health care has been flourishing in this country for many centuries. Botanicals constitute of major part of these traditional medicines. With the emerging world wide interest, in adopting traditional practices, in the health care systems by exploiting their potential, the evaluation of the botanicals in these systems of medicine in India is utmost essential. Various regulations and control on use of botanicals has come up with their use in traditional medicine which will not only help to cure different ailments through indigenous resources but also will help in screening and evaluation of the natural resource in a better way to use them in traditional health care program.     

Community pharmacists’ opinions and practice of pharmaceutical care at chain pharmacy and independent pharmacy in China

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy - Background Whether Chinese community pharmacists in chain pharmacies and independent pharmacies provide the same type and quality of pharmaceutical care...     

Khat in the Neighbourhood—Local Government Responses to Khat Use in a London Community

There is increasing fear among the general public about khat, its use and users, and associated crime. In many English cities, neighborhoods with growing Somali populations and emerging khat-using scenes and markets have to find ways of managing the impact of the negative image of khat. This case study describes and analyzes how a local municipal authority can respond constructively by generating an evidence base, engaging in consultation, and endeavoring to identify the actual relationship between reported criminality and public nuisance and the alleged patterns of use and distribution of khat. It is argued that it is important to frame the khat in the community not as a “drug problem” but as a wider public health issue, for which appropriate solutions can be developed.     

Training community‐based clinicians in screening and brief intervention for substance abuse problems: Translating evidence into practice

Screening and brief intervention in general health care settings are efficacious but have not been widely adopted. Our objective was to assess the effect of an educational intervention on clinicians’ substance abuse‐related clinical practices. The study was a telephone survey of practicing physicians, nurses, psychologists, physician's assistants, and social workers who attended a half‐day continuing education course on one of four occasions. The course covered the stages of behavioral change and motivational counseling, using primarily role play with standardized patients. Of 87 course attendees, 70 (80%) completed the interview. Months to years after the course, most (91%) reported that the course made an impact on their practice. Most (78%) of respondents reported that they frequently or always asked new patients who drank alcohol a formal screening questionnaire such as the CAGE, and 94% frequently or always assessed their substance abusing patients’ readiness to change. Most respondents reported that since taking the course they were more likely (1) to screen patients for alcohol or drug related problems (86%) and (2) to ask patients about their substance abuse on a follow‐up visit (96%). After exposure to an active‐learning half‐day continuing education course, clinicians reported improvement with and high rates of desirable substance abuse‐related clinical practices up to 5 years later. Continuing education efforts that incorporate active learning directed toward practicing clinicians show promise for improving rates of brief intervention for alcohol and other drug abuse.     

Point-of-care testing in pharmacies—An evaluation of the service from the lens of resource-based theory of competitive advantage

BackgroundPoint-of-care tests (POCTs) are innovative services that are increasingly offered in community pharmacies. Assessments of these services should consider their financial sustainability in addition to their effectiveness if they are to be successful over time in a competitive environment.ObjectivesThe aim of this research was to review and evaluate the POCT practice innovations literature through the lens of the resource-based theory (RBT) of competitive advantage.Data sources: Articles describing POCT services were identified systematically through PubMed, exclusively.Study selectionAll POCT articles in the review met the following inclusion criteria: (1) articles were published after 1999; (2) interventions were pharmacist-led innovations within a community pharmacy; (3) articles described research studies with results; and (4) articles were published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.Data extractionThe RBT was operationalized using a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats matrix and a business model canvas, which were employed to extract and analyze data. Articles were assessed according to the degree to which they articulated elements that the RBT needed to assess their financial sustainability in targeted markets.ResultsA total of 36 articles describing POCTs and associated services were included in this review. Most of the studies reported aspects pertaining to the contextual environment of the innovation, value proposition, key activities, partners, and channels of distribution. However, the competitive dimension of the environment, as well as the cost structure and revenue streams, were often neglected in the studies.ConclusionsThe RBT is a widely tested framework that can be used for planning and reporting POCT practice innovations. On the basis of this framework, pharmacists seem to do a good job in describing how to provide POCT but fall short in explaining how these services are sustainable over time.     

To Prevent Alcohol Problems in Europe by Community Actions—Various National and Regional Contexts

The European transformation during the 1990s, concerning political, economic, social and cultural changes, has made alcohol policy in many countries very fragile and uncertain because of new social and economic conditions and decreasing power of national governments. On this background, regions, municipalities, nongovernmental organizations and the civic society are to play a more prominent role in the European alcohol policy arena. In December 1997 the first European research and evaluation symposium on community action alcohol programs was held in Malmö, Sweden. The themes were: Research-based evaluation of community action programs; The interaction between local, national, and European prevention strategies; Local programs in schools, workplaces, health sectors, primary health care, and other community contexts; The role of citizens' movements, consumer organizations, women's groups, and other voluntary organizations; Local political action. This paper is the first attempt to summarize the similarities and differences in the programs presented at the symposium.