No abstract

This study demonstrated that MHFA training can reduce pharmacy students' mental health stigma, improve recognition of mental disorders and improve confidence in providing services to consumers with a mental illness in the pharmacy setting.

Medicines are a major treatment modality for many mental illnesses, and with the growing burden of mental disorders worldwide pharmacists are ideally positioned to play a greater role in supporting people with a mental illness. This narrative review aims to describe the evidence for pharmacist-delivered services in mental health care and address the barriers and facilitators to increasing the uptake of pharmacist services as part of the broader mental health care team. This narrative review is divided into three main sections: (1) the role of the pharmacist in mental health care in multidisciplinary teams and in supporting early detection of mental illness; (2) the pharmacists’ role in supporting quality use of medicines in medication review, strategies to improve medication adherence and antipsychotic polypharmacy, and shared decision making; and (3) barriers and facilitators to the implementation of mental health pharmacy services with a focus on organizational culture and mental health stigma. In the first section, the review presents new roles for pharmacists within multidisciplinary teams, such as in case conferencing or collaborative drug therapy management; and new roles that would benefit from increased pharmacist involvement, such as the early detection of mental health conditions, development of care plans and follow up of people with mental health problems. The second section describes the impact of medication review services and other pharmacist-led interventions designed to reduce inappropriate use of psychotropic medicines and improve medication adherence. Other new potential roles discussed include the management of antipsychotic polypharmacy and involvement in patient-centered care. Finally, barriers related to pharmacists’ attitudes, stigma and skills in the care of patients with mental health problems and barriers affecting pharmacist-physician collaboration are described, along with strategies to reduce mental health stigma.

Contextual factors, such as healthcare spending and public attitudes towards mental illness, may partly explain variations in antidepressant use and regular use of these medications.

Objective. To evaluate a consumer-led teaching intervention to reduce pharmacy students' stigma towards depression and schizophrenia, and improve attitudes toward providing pharmaceutical care for consumers with mental illness. Design. Third-year bachelor of pharmacy degree students were given a series of mental health lectures, undertook supervised weekly placements in the community pharmacy setting, and attended a tutorial led by trained mental health consumer educators. Assessment. A previously validated 26-item survey instrument was administered at baseline, 6 weeks postintervention, and 12 months postintervention, and 3 focus groups were conducted. Survey instruments were completed by 225 students at baseline, 230 students postintervention, and 228 students at 12 months. Students' stigma decreased (p , 0.05) and their attitudes toward the provision of pharmaceutical services to consumers with a mental illness showed significant improvements (p , 0.05). These improvements were maintained at the 12-month follow-up. Four themes emerged from the focus groups: knowledge and experience of mental illness, mental health stigma, impacts on attitudes and self-reported behavior, and the role of the pharmacist in mental healthcare. Conclusions. Consumer-led education for pharmacy students may provide a sustainable reduction in stigma and improve attitudes towards providing pharmaceutical services to consumers with a mental illness.