Screening for coronary heart disease risk factors in retail pharmacies in Sheffield, 1992

Systematic review on the effects of the physical and social aspects of community pharmacy spaces on service users and staff

Aim:

This systematic review aimed to provide new insights into how pharmacy spaces, or the architecture of pharmacies, are experienced by pharmacy service users and staff. The review sought to identify environmental factors which may influence service users’ and staff participation in community-based pharmacy health services.

Method:

Ten databases were searched for English language publications, using a combination of search terms relating to pharmacy service users and staff; pharmacy spaces; and health and social care outcomes. Data from the final selected studies were extracted, thematically analysed using a narrative approach and the quality of each study assessed using the Integrated quality Criteria for the Review of Multiple Study designs (ICROMS).

Results:

80 articles reporting 80 studies published between 1994 and 2020 were identified; they were from 28 countries, involving around 3234 community pharmacies, 13,615 pharmacy service users, 5056 pharmacists and 78 pharmacy health staff. Most studies (94%) met the ICROMS minimum score, and half did not meet the mandatory quality criteria. Four themes likely to influence service users’ and staff experiences of pharmacy health services were identified: (1) privacy; (2) experience of the physical environment; (3) professional image; and (4) risk of error.

Conclusion:

To optimise the delivery and experience of pharmacy health services, these spaces should be made more engaging. Future applied research could focus on optimising inclusive pharmacy design features.

Consumer perspectives of pharmacist-delivered healtn information and screening services

Objective

Community pharmacy has been increasing its involvement in health promotion, especially information provision and screening, over the past decade. Little is known about how consumers view these services and there is a need to evaluate the level of consumer endorsement of this role. The aim of this study was to evaluate consumer attitudes towards pharmacist-delivered health information and screening services over time and with personal experiences of these services, as part of a standardised pharmacy programme.

Method

A validated instrument was administered in 1994 (n=98) and 2000 (n=58) to consumers who had not experienced a pharmacist health information and screening programme, and to a population in 2000 (n=159) who had received such a service. Comparisons of consumer attitudes were made between the unexposed 1994 and 2000 populations to test for the influence of time, and between the exposed and unexposed samples in 2000 to test for the effect of personal experience of the service.

Setting

Data were collected in seven community pharmacies in various non-metropolitan regions of New South Wales, Australia.

Key findings

Even after accounting for demographic variation between cohorts, consumers had a more positive attitude towards pharmacist screening over time, and towards both health information and screening after personal experience of these services.

Conclusion

Community pharmacists should be encouraged to participate more in health information provision and screening in order to take advantage of and further promote consumer endorsement of these pharmacist services.

Privacy: a review of the literature

The concept of privacy is used in many disciplines and is recognised as one of the important concepts also in nursing. In this review, a description about the perspectives and dimensions of the concept will be made and empirical studies in the area will be analysed. Perspectives include units experiencing privacy, desired-achieved state, and reactiveness. Dimensions are divided into physical, psychological, social and informational. In the empirical studies, the concept of the privacy has mainly been studied in hospital organisations using the physical dimension. The concept needs further clarification in future.