The effect of a pharmacist consultation on pregnant women’s quality of life with a special focus on nausea and vomiting: an intervention study

Abstract

Background Maternal wellbeing and quality of life (QOL) are increasingly being recognized as important for healthy pregnancies. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a pharmacist consultation on pregnant women’s QOL focusing on nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP), and patient satisfaction. Methods For this intervention study in 14 community pharmacies, women in early pregnancy were recruited and assigned to a pharmacist consultation (intervention) or standard care (control). The consultation aimed to address each woman’s concerns regarding medications and pregnancy-related ailments. Data were collected through online questionnaires at baseline (Q1) and during the second trimester (Q2). The intervention group completed an additional satisfaction questionnaire after the consultation was completed. The primary outcome was the impact of the intervention on the Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) scores between the first and second trimesters. The impact of the intervention was assessed by linear regression, and secondary analyses were performed to assess effect modification by NVP. Results Of the 340 women enrolled in the study, we analyzed data for 245. Half (170/340) of the original participants were allocated to the intervention group, of whom 131 received the pharmacist consultation. Most women (75%, 78/96) reported that the consultation was useful to a large/very large extent. The consultation had no overall impact on QOLS scores between the first and the second trimesters compared with standard care (adjusted β: 0.7, 95% CI: -2.1, 3.4). The impact of the intervention on QOLS was greater amongst women with moderate/severe NVP (adjusted β: 3.6, 95% CI: -0.6, 7.7) compared to those with no/mild NVP (adjusted β: -1.4, 95% CI: -5.1, 2.2) (interaction term study group*NVP severity, p = 0.048). Conclusions The pregnant women highly appreciated the pharmacist consultation, but the intervention did not affect their QOL scores compared with standard care. Future studies should further explore the effect of a pharmacist consultation specifically for NVP and on other outcomes such as use of health care services and medication use in pregnancy. Trial registration Retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT04182750, registration date: December 2, 2019).

Impact of a primary care pharmacist intervention on pregnant women`s medication use: The SafeStart intervention study linked to a national prescription database

“…Future work should focus on the role of the pharmacies within maternity care. Although this study showed no difference in the use of medications during pregnancy, earlier results from the SafeStart interventional trial have shown that women highly valued the pharmacist consultation [22]. The most frequent pregnancy-related condition addressed during the consultations was NVP.…”

“…The SafeStart study This study was a part of the SafeStart interventional trial [21,22]. Norwegian-speaking, pregnant women in their rst trimester were eligible for participation.…”

“…Earlier studies have demonstrated that pharmaceutical care improves health outcomes, con dence in decision-making, knowledge, and communication and is cost-effective as well [19,20]. We have previously found that a pharmacist intervention for pregnant women in the rst trimester was feasible and highly appreciated by the women themselves [21,22]. These studies did not explore the impact of the pharmacist consultation on other health outcomes, such as medication use during pregnancy.…”

Impact of a primary care pharmacist consultations on pregnant women’s medication use: the SafeStart intervention study linked to a national prescription database

“…This study was a part of the SafeStart interventional trial [ 20 , 21 ]. Norwegian-speaking pregnant women in their first trimester were eligible for participation.…”

“…We previously found that a pharmacist consultation for pregnant women in the first trimester was feasible and highly appreciated by the women [ 20 ]. Women found it most useful when the information they received was tailored to their needs and when the consultations could be performed over the phone [ 20 , 21 ]. However, these studies did not explore the impact of pharmacist consultations on medication use during pregnancy.…”