Consumer perspectives about weight management services in a community pharmacy setting in NSW, Australia

Abstract

Background Obesity is a public health challenge faced worldwide. Community pharmacists may be well placed to manage AustraliaÕs obesity problem owing to their training, accessibility and trustworthiness. However, determining consumersÕ needs is vital to the development of any new services or the evaluation of existing services.

Community pharmacy in Australia: A health hub destination of the future

“…Furthermore, they may be unaware of the breadth of the pharmacist's expertise beyond the supply of medication, which is consistent with existing knowledge. 12,13,18,19,47 Our study confirms that further promotion of the pharmacist's role is needed for the entire community. However, a recent paper ascertained that Scottish consumers were inclined to seek professional services from their GP, and an increase in service uptake did not follow on from an increased knowledge of pharmacy services.…”

“…18,37 Furthermore, it was evident that there is a current disconnect in the health system, with participants emphasizing the difficulties for consumers to find the resources, support and services they need. This was identified as a particular problem when first diagnosed with a condition.…”

“…18 We also recommend that pharmacists discuss the provision of services within the pharmacy setting and communicate with the consumer's network of health care professionals as noted in the interviews. A collaborative relationship between primary care providers is necessary, and it has been acknowledged that a team-based approach is an important attribute of the Chronic Care Model.…”

“…18 Although the reasons for underutilisation are complex, one very important issue is the lack of consumer awareness of the breadth of skills pharmacists have. 19,20 Research suggests that consumers perceive the pharmacist's primary role as medication providers, 7,12 or mainly view the community pharmacy as a place to purchase quality medications.…”

Promoting weight management services in community pharmacy: perspectives of the pharmacy team in Scotland

“…This general issue requires to be addressed through appropriate marketing of services and targeting of individuals, as highlighted in a more recent systematic review of the views of consumers of community pharmacy public health services which noted very little change in customers' attitudes in the past decade [32]. Consumer perspectives about weight management services in particular echoed the findings of a study by Um et al [33] which used an online cross-sectional consumer survey to gain the views of 403 consumers of community pharmacy services in Australia. Most customers considered pharmacists' motivation to be profit driven and expressed concerns over their perceived lack of expertise, time and conflict of interest [33].…”