Pharmacist contributions to the ten essential services of public health in three National Association of Boards of Pharmacy regions.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists have contributed to improved population health through the delivery of public health services, but their contributions often go unrecognized within the larger health care system. OBJECTIVES: To determine pharmacist perceptions of their contributions to the 10 essential services of public health and to compare those contributions among pharmacists in Iowa, North Dakota, and Manitoba. METHODS: Licensed pharmacists in Iowa, North Dakota, and Manitoba were sent an online survey of their perceived level of achievement of the 10 essential services of public health. RESULTS: A total of 649 pharmacists completed the survey. The 3 essential services that scored the highest overall were enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety, inform and educate people about health issues, and participate in ongoing training beyond continuing education requirements. Contributions of pharmacists to the 10 essential services of public health were previously evaluated by frequency of citation in the published literature. There was relative agreement between what was reported in the literature and what was determined by survey. One exception was "enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety," which was rarely reported in the literature but was reported in the survey to be the most frequently delivered service. CONCLUSION: Pharmacist contributions to improved population health should be reported with the use of the 10 essential services of public health. This will increase recognition of pharmacist contributions and better align the disciplines of pharmacy and public health. In particular, pharmacists should consider ways to increase their level of involvement in the community and in partnership with other health care professionals.

Assessment of pharmacists' delivery of public health services in rural and urban areas in Iowa and North Dakota

Background: The profession of pharmacy is expanding its involvement in public health, but few studies have examined pharmacists’ delivery of public health services. Objective: To assess Iowa and North Dakota pharmacists’ practices, frequency of public health service delivery, level of involvement in achieving the essential services of public health, and barriers to expansion of public health services in rural and urban areas. Methods: This study implemented an on-line survey sent to all pharmacists currently practicing pharmacy in Iowa and North Dakota. Results: Overall, 602 valid responses were analyzed, 297 in rural areas and 305 in urban areas. Three practice settings (chain stores [169, 28.2%], independent community pharmacies [162, 27.0%], and hospital pharmacies [156, 26.0%]) comprised 81.2% of the sample. Both chain and independent community pharmacists were more commonly located in rural areas than in urban areas (P<0.05). For some public health services, pharmacists in rural areas reported higher frequency of delivery than did pharmacists in urban areas (P < .05) that included: medication therapy management, immunizations, tobacco counseling, and medication take-back programs. For some essential services, pharmacists (particularly independents) in rural areas reported more frequent delivery than did pharmacists in urban areas (P < .05), these included: evaluate the services the pharmacy provides, partner with the community to identify and help solve health problems, and conduct needs assessments to identify health risks in my community. Conclusion: Rural pharmacists more frequently deliver public health services than urban in both Iowa and North Dakota. These findings should be interpreted to be primarily due to differences in the role of the rural pharmacist and the quest for certain opportunities that rural pharmacists are seeking (AU)

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Assessment of pharmacists' delivery of public health services in rural and urban areas in Iowa and North Dakota.

BACKGROUND: The profession of pharmacy is expanding its involvement in public health, but few studies have examined pharmacists' delivery of public health services. OBJECTIVE: To assess Iowa and North Dakota pharmacists' practices, frequency of public health service delivery, level of involvement in achieving the essential services of public health, and barriers to expansion of public health services in rural and urban areas. METHODS: This study implemented an on-line survey sent to all pharmacists currently practicing pharmacy in Iowa and North Dakota. RESULTS: Overall, 602 valid responses were analyzed, 297 in rural areas and 305 in urban areas. Three practice settings (chain stores [169, 28.2%], independent community pharmacies [162, 27.0%], and hospital pharmacies [156, 26.0%]) comprised 81.2% of the sample. Both chain and independent community pharmacists were more commonly located in rural areas than in urban areas (P<0.05). For some public health services, pharmacists in rural areas reported higher frequency of delivery than did pharmacists in urban areas (P < .05) that included: medication therapy management, immunizations, tobacco counseling, and medication take-back programs. For some essential services, pharmacists (particularly independents) in rural areas reported more frequent delivery than did pharmacists in urban areas (P < .05), these included: evaluate the services the pharmacy provides, partner with the community to identify and help solve health problems, and conduct needs assessments to identify health risks in my community. CONCLUSION: Rural pharmacists more frequently deliver public health services than urban in both Iowa and North Dakota. These findings should be interpreted to be primarily due to differences in the role of the rural pharmacist and the quest for certain opportunities that rural pharmacists are seeking.