The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7241 p389
22 March 2003

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Unpublished studies support role of community pharmacy in public health

Community pharmacists can improve the health of the local population through their work on sensitive health issues, according to unpublished studies examined in a new report.

Eighteen months ago, PharmacyHealthLink and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society issued a report showing the published evidence to support the contribution of pharmacy to improving the nation's health (PJ, 6 October 2001, p489). A second report, launched at the United Kingdom Public Health Association conference in Cardiff this week, looks at non-peer reviewed and unpublished work. It includes masters and doctoral research at schools of pharmacy, reports to Government bodies and presentations at conferences. Thirty-seven studies are included in the second report.

The findings of the first report that are supported by the new work include:

• Pharmacists and pharmacy users see pharmacists' roles in public health as being medicines related

• Pharmacists have concerns about whether others want them to extend their role in to health improvement

• The public do not use pharmacies much for general health advice

• Pharmacy records can be used to identify "at risk" patients

Additional evidence supports community pharmacy involvement in services for drug misusers, sexual health and as providers of emergency hormonal contraception, and head lice management.

Feedback from GPs and school nurses indicated that they support pharmacy involvement in these services and want them to continue.

Privacy and confidentiality are the greatest areas of concern for pharmacy users identified in the new studies. Around 20–25 per cent of users said that there was insufficient privacy in pharmacies to discuss issues such as EHC and head lice treatment. Miriam Armstrong, chief executive of PHL, commented: "Concerns about confidentiality were particularly high among women under 19 years old. This clearly suggests that if pharmacists want to extend their health promotion role to include all members of the public, then they need to consider the level of privacy they can offer to users and to display more information on their duty of confidentiality."

Areas identified where further research is warranted include using aspirin in preventing coronary heart disease, oral health, mental health, and prevention of transmission of infection and medicine-related injuries.

Copies of the report can be downloaded from here. A third report, including recommendations for action, will be published at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Harrogate in September.