Supplying injecting equipment to drug misusers: a survey of community pharmacists' attitudes, beliefs and practices

Rees, Lois; Harding, Geoffrey; Taylor, Kevin

doi:10.1111/j.2042-7174.1997.tb00902.x

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Pharmacists were more likely to offer harm reduction services if their location and situation demanded them and pharmacists had a diverse set of attitudes toward the IDU population, ranging from sympathy and remorse to apathy and disdain. 32,33 Studies in the United States have revealed similar data with respect to the recognized need for harm reduction services in community pharmacies. A survey of Rhode Island practitioners found that pharmacists felt it was their role to provide equipment and advice to IDUs to prevent the spread of infections and that providing these services in the community pharmacy setting would not disrupt regular pharmacy services.…”

Section: 31mentioning

confidence: 88%

Pharmacists and Harm Reduction: A Review of Current Practices and Attitudes

Watson

Hughes

2012

Can Pharm J

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Conclusion:As one of the most accessible health care providers, community pharmacists are in an ideal position to provide meaningful services to injection drug users. However, in order to do so, pharmacists require additional support in the form of better health team and system integration, as well as remuneration models. Can Pharm J 2012;145:124-127.e2. health promotion and traditionally refers to policies or programs that are aimed at decreasing the adverse health, social and economic consequences of high-risk behaviours such as drug and alcohol use. 4 For the purposes of this paper, harm reduction services refer to strategies aimed at minimizing the harmful consequences associated with injection drug use and high-risk sexual activity, which are 2 significant social and health issues. Injection drug use accounts for 17% of new cases of HIV infection and approximately two-thirds of new cases of hepatitis C in Canada. 5,6 While the economic burden related to injection drug use is difficult to determine, the lifetime cost of treating each case of HIV infection is $150,000 and it has been estimated that the cost of treating hepatitis C in injection drug users (IDUs) in Canada between 2006 and 2026 will be $3.96 billion. 7,8 With the sequelae of injection drug use and high-risk sexual activity being so costly and burdensome, the implementation of more effective programs aimed at reducing these problems is a priority.Throughout the literature, community pharmacists are acknowledged as important, underutilized resources in preventing the spread of HIV and other blood-borne infections. Pharmacists are recognized as one of the most accessible health care professionals for the general population and are in an ideal position to reach IDUs, who are often socially marginalized and often wish to maintain anonymity. Potential harm reduction roles for community pharmacists that have been identified include the sale of condoms and other safer-sex products, educating on safe-sex practices, selling clean needles/syringes, providing a site for disposal of used needles and syringes and dispensing oral methadone for the treatment of opiate dependence.The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of pharmacists' involvement in harm reduction services, with a particular focus on research that has evaluated pharmacists' attitudes and barriers toward provision of these services. A review of the literature from 1995 to 2011 was conducted through MEDLINE, PubMed and Scopus using the search terms pharmacist, harm reduction, disease prevention, health promotion, attitudes, competence and barriers. Relevant references of articles identified by the search were also reviewed by both study investigators. To be included in this review, studies had to focus on harm reduction services involving pharmacies, pharmacists' attitudes and identified barriers toward providing such services or both. Articles were excluded if they were not in English or did not meet the above inclusion criteria. Results Current practices in harm reductionOne of t...

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Section: 31mentioning

confidence: 88%

Pharmacists and Harm Reduction: A Review of Current Practices and Attitudes

Watson

Hughes

2012

Can Pharm J

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“…Attitudes towards service provision and the client are an important factor in the quality of services provided, and training may, to a certain extent, help deal with some of the less appropriate beliefs and attitudes (McCarty, Riechmann, Green, Gallon, & Knudsen, 2004). Rees (Rees, Harding, & Taylor, 1997) surveyed pharmacist involvement in, and attitudes and beliefs about, the supply of injecting equipment to injecting drug users (IDUs). Providers of injecting equipment to IDUs were shown to be significantly more likely than non-providers to have a positive attitude towards supply, to perceive greater demand for injecting equipment, and to believe that 'important others', such as the pharmacy customers and other health professionals, would like them to make equipment available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Zealand community pharmacist attitudes toward opioid-dependent clients

McCormick

Bryant

Sheridan

et al. 2006

Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy

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Aim: To survey New Zealand community pharmacists to explore levels of training, attitudes towards providing services for drug users, and associations with current and past practice. Methods: Postal survey of 898 randomly selected community pharmacists. Questions included demography, training and a 20-question attitude scale. Principle component analysis was conducted to identify the main attitude factors. Multiple linear regressions were used to model the effect of different independent variables on the factors. Findings: Twenty-six percent of respondents had previously undertaken training about the management of opioid misuse. Four principal factors explained 57% of the variance within the attitude questions. These were attitudes towards: 'the general results of dispensing methadone to opioid misusers'; 'the effect of opioid-dependent clients on a pharmacy'; 'reducing harm associated with drug use'; and 'engaging with drug users'. Training (having it or wanting to have it) was positively associated with the four attitude factors. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that attitudes towards various aspects of service provision to drug misusers may not be as simple as previously perceived.

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“…Of note is that pharmacists in their capacity as health providers are more likely to provide harm reduction services if their communities demand them. 1,[16][17][18][19][33][34] Pharmacist experiences illustrated the positive nature of providing needle exchange services In contrast, findings elsewhere have illustrated more negative views, where some pharmacists have disclosed negative attitudes towards PWID and although attitudes towards the provision of services in pharmacies for PWID have generally improved in recent years they are still mixed. [35][36][37] Recent systematic reviews have underscored the general positive attitude to providing harm reduction advice in pharmacies, with common barriers centring on lack of time and specific training, fear of attracting difficult service users, insufficient remuneration, and difficulties in communicating with adjunct health providers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%