OBJECTIVES:Pharmaceutical waste poses increasing environmental and public health risks, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where regulatory systems are often weak. In Lebanon, little is known about the work undertaken by community pharmacists in managing such waste, despite their accessibility and central role in medication distribution. This study aimed to investigate and quantify the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of community pharmacists in Lebanon regarding pharmaceutical waste disposal, and to identify perceived challenges and recommendations for improvement. METHODS:A cross-sectional survey, administered via a structured online questionnaire, was completed by 470 community pharmacists across Lebanon between July and September 2025 using convenience snowball sampling. KEY FINDINGS:Three hundred thirty-one community pharmacists completed the survey. A total of 70% of pharmacists were aware of the environmental hazards of inappropriate drug disposal, and 42.7% reported returning unwanted medications to manufacturers or warehouses as their primary disposal method. However unsafe practices, such as disposing of drugs in household waste, persisted (48.3%). Awareness was high, but formal training was limited (58.3% had never received related education). Nearly all respondents (91.5%) supported the need for a national take-back system, and most favored funding by public authorities and pharmaceutical companies. Major barriers included a lack of infrastructure, regulatory clarity, and enforcement. Training and pharmacy-based return schemes were the most favored interventions. CONCLUSIONS:Lebanese community pharmacists demonstrate strong knowledge and willingness to implement safer pharmaceutical waste management practices, but are hindered by existing challenges. Establishing a national disposal network, enhancing regulatory control, and providing focused training are essential to facilitate effective pharmaceutical waste management. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Not applicable.
OBJECTIVES:Antibiotic access is crucial for reducing infectious diseases, but in sub-Saharan Africa, poor regulation leads to inappropriate use and increased antimicrobial resistance. This review aimed to synthesise evidence on community-level antibiotic access, use, and the reported impacts associated with these practices across sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS:The review adhered to PRISMA guidelines. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL for studies published between 1 January 2000 and 30 June 2025. Eligible studies examined antibiotic access, utilisation, or related impacts in community settings in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were extracted and thematically analysed across five dimensions of access, and related use outcomes were identified. Risk of bias was assessed using the quality assessment for diverse studies tool. KEY FINDINGS:Forty studies were included. Antibiotics are accessed through formal channels, healthcare facilities, and licensed pharmacies, and through informal sources, drug shops, and unauthorised vendors. Access was common in rural settings due to affordability and convenience. Contributing factors included limited enforcement of prescribing regulations, restricted availability of diagnostic tools, and market vulnerabilities. Stewardship interventions, audit and feedback, improved prescribing quality. Outcomes varied: access supported by diagnostic testing and supervised dosing improved treatment outcomes, childhood pneumonia, and maternal infections. In contrast, unregulated access was associated with treatment failure and increased risk of resistance, although evidence on community care pathways remained limited. CONCLUSIONS:Antibiotic access in sub-Saharan Africa is essential yet problematic. Sustained progress should integrate strategies that combine regulation, diagnostic support, stewardship, affordability measures, and surveillance. Additionally, research is needed to understand the link between community antibiotic use and trends in resistance.
OBJECTIVES:To examine consultation room use, services delivered, and use of clinical records in New Zealand (NZ) community pharmacies. METHODS:Community pharmacies were surveyed. Analysis included descriptive statistics, Fisher exact tests, t-tests, and ANOVA. KEY FINDINGS:Of 104 responses (42% response rate), 92.2% had consultation room/s, used on average eight times per day. Most respondents wanted to improve their consultation room. Micro-credentialled services usually used consultation rooms, but some sensitive services often did not, and use of external clinical records was low. CONCLUSIONS:Consultation rooms and new services have been well-adopted in NZ pharmacy, but some improvements would be helpful.
OBJECTIVES:To explore how older adults engaged with a direct-to-patient brochure and telephone reinforcement call about benzodiazepine receptor agonist (BZRA) risks and discontinuation, including barriers and facilitators to acting on brochure content. METHODS:This qualitative analysis was conducted within a 3-arm pilot randomized trial at 2 Veterans Health Administration facilities. Participants randomized to the active brochure plus telephone reinforcement call arm (n = 120) were contacted up to two times. Field notes from completed calls were analysed using qualitative content analysis. KEY FINDINGS:Seventy-two participants completed a call. Three themes emerged: brochure awareness and interest, intention to act on brochure content, and perceptions of insomnia and BZRAs. Participants varied in whether they recalled or reviewed the brochure, whether they planned to discuss BZRA use with a clinician or use digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, and how they understood long-term BZRA use. CONCLUSIONS:Limited recall of mailed materials, digital access barriers, and beliefs about BZRA use may shape engagement with low-touch deprescribing interventions.
OBJECTIVES:Reflexivity, the consideration of how researchers' perspectives and interactions may influence a study, enhances transparency and trustworthiness in research, yet it is often briefly reported. This systematised review and content analysis evaluated how reflexivity is described and reported in qualitative pharmacy practice studies, using Walsh's four-domain typology (personal, interpersonal, methodological, and contextual) as an analytic framework. METHODS:A systematised review of 11 open-access pharmacy practice journals was conducted. Qualitative studies were included if they reported reflexivity. Two reviewers independently screened 2379 articles; 97 met inclusion criteria. Data were extracted on reflexivity type, methods, and reflexivity within reporting checklists. A content analysis of included articles was undertaken to synthesise how reflexivity was applied and reported. KEY FINDINGS:Reflexivity was sufficiently described in 88 of 97 studies (87%). Most addressed only one reflexivity domain (n = 52). Personal reflexivity was most frequently reported (n = 67), while interpersonal (n = 27), methodological (n = 18), and contextual (n = 1) domains were less common. Reflexive strategies (e.g. diaries, bracketing) were mentioned in 18 studies but were often briefly described without application or impact. Although 86 studies were published after the introduction of COREQ/SRQR, only 34 included a checklist, and just 18 offered detailed reflexivity reporting. CONCLUSIONS:Reflexivity reporting in qualitative pharmacy practice research remains inconsistent and under-reported. Reflexivity was commonly limited to descriptions of researchers' roles and credentials, with minimal reflection on how their perspectives shaped the study. Stronger engagement across all reflexivity domains and more detailed use of reporting frameworks are needed to enhance transparency and trustworthiness.
INTRODUCTION:Optimizing drug treatments in older adults is essential for improving health outcomes and reducing drug-related issues. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to develop an updated and comprehensive explicit indicator of potentially inappropriate medications in older adults, and to evaluate its association with all-cause hospitalization. METHODS:Administrative healthcare data from Local Health Units (LHUs) in Lombardy, Italy (2015-2018) were used to identify individuals aged ≥65 years who were exposed to potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), identified through an explicit criteria-based list. Risk-set matching was used to select unexposed controls, and logistic regression models adjusted for high-dimensional propensity scores were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause hospitalization within 90 days after the first exposure date. KEY FINDINGS:Among 641 230 older patients, between 52.8% and 56.3% were exposed to at least one PIM. After matching (128 063 pairs) hospitalization rates were higher among the exposed (8.3%-10.2%) compared with the not exposed (5.1%-6.0%) across the LHUs. Pooled estimates showed an increased risk of hospitalization for those exposed (ORs 1.55, 95% CIs 1.48-1.62), with the highest risk observed in adults aged 65-74 years (1.67, 1.59-1.76) and in women (1.62, 1.55-1.70). CONCLUSIONS:Over half of older individuals were exposed to at least one PIM, with a 55% increase in short-term hospitalization risk. These findings highlight the urgent need for improved prescribing practices tailored to older populations.
OBJECTIVES:To identify the key components of interventions to build research capability and capacity of the pharmacy workforce in Wales using a behavioural-science approach. Local workforce barriers and enablers, global literature, and stakeholder views were explored to inform strategies for supporting pharmacy research engagement. METHODS:Phase 1 stakeholder engagement established barriers and enablers using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model. Findings from a rapid literature review identified core elements to support research. Phase 2 stakeholder engagement gathered feedback on findings from Phase 1 from pharmacy research leaders and staff in one Health Board. KEY FINDINGS:Seven papers reporting positive research activity outcomes were identified, from which nine core elements for strengthening research capability and capacity were derived: Strategy, Funding, Partnerships with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Physical resources, Networking, Mentorship/support/supervision, Training, Identity, and Protected time. Stakeholders prioritized Strategy, Partnerships, and Identity. Mapping of pharmacy staff barriers and enablers to the COM-B model and nine elements demonstrated how capability (skills, knowledge), opportunity (time, resources, networks), and motivation (professional recognition, culture) can be addressed. Findings emphasize these elements should be implemented together, embedded in organisational culture, and supported through strategic planning and sustained investment. CONCLUSIONS:Interventions to support pharmacy professionals' research engagement should include all nine core elements, combined appropriately and underpinned by the COM-B model of behaviour, tailoring the operationalisation of these elements to local need. Combining these elements within organisational culture, education, and planning can embed research as a core professional role, ensuring sustained capability, opportunity, and motivation to engage with research across the pharmacy profession.
OBJECTIVES:Australia has commenced implementing contraceptive resupply and prescribing by community pharmacists to improve equity in method access. This study aimed to investigate pharmacist's acceptability of hormonal contraceptive resupply and prescribing. METHODS:Participants were recruited via convenience sampling and had provided contraceptive counseling consistent with the ALLIANCE intervention (i.e. structured, patient-centered, effectiveness-based care) to women seeking the emergency contraceptive pill or presenting prescriptions for medical abortion medicines. This qualitative descriptive study was embedded within the ALLIANCE trial, whose process evaluation included semi-structured interviews with pharmacist participants. The interview guide, containing questions on pharmacists' views of the resupply and prescribing service, was reviewed by the ALLIANCE Trial Chief Investigators and piloted in June 2024 with the SPHERE Pharmacy Advisory Circle. Thirteen questions were developed using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA). Two researchers conducted line-by-line coding using an iteratively refined codebook, with codes mapped to TFA constructs to examine operationalization in pharmacists' delivery of hormonal contraception. KEY FINDINGS:Although pharmacists (n = 24) perceived that the service could be cost- and time-saving to patients, they raised concerns of unintentionally removing general practitioner (GP)-led monitoring of patients and overstepping GPs' roles. While pharmacists felt confident in their expertise and generally supported the service, they expressed hesitation about initiating contraceptive prescriptions, for which they felt further training and access to comprehensive medical records were required. Additional barriers included increased workload pressures, lack of reimbursement, and inadequate staffing. CONCLUSIONS:Overall, providing a resupply service appears to be acceptable to community pharmacists because it relies on the GP's initial assessment but prescribing less so. However, evaluation is needed post-implementation to explore sustainability, feasibility, and long-term impact on patient outcomes.
INTRODUCTION:In 2020, a national Pharmacy First Plus (PF+) service was introduced in Scotland to enhance healthcare access by enabling community pharmacists with an independent prescribing qualification to diagnose, manage and autonomously prescribe for a wider range of common clinical conditions. Data demonstrated service delivery is variable. OBJECTIVES:This study aimed to explore the barriers and enablers to delivering PF+ by community pharmacies within National Health Service Greater Glasgow & Clyde (NHSGGC), the largest health board in Scotland. METHOD:Between July and December 2023, 12 one-to-one semi-structured interviews with NHSGGC community pharmacist prescribers offering the PF+ service were conducted face to face or virtually. Audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and underwent thematic analysis using normalization process theory. KEY FINDINGS:Analysis generated three overarching themes of individual, organizational and contractual factors. Subthemes were pharmacy logistics, clinical skills and training, staffing/skill mix, competing priorities, time challenges and external stakeholder relationships. Many of these were interdependent and had the potential to be a barrier or an enabler to PF+ provision, depending on context. CONCLUSION:The barriers and enablers to community pharmacists working as autonomous prescribing pharmacists and delivering a standardized service are multifaceted. With growing opportunities to expand the PF+ service, it is important to address and influence the barriers that currently exist.
OBJECTIVES:To explore needle and syringe program (NSP) service provision and related correlates and comfort, attitudes, beliefs, and barriers to service provision, among a nationally representative sample of Australian community pharmacists. METHODS:A national survey was undertaken between January and April 2025. The survey captured data on pharmacy and pharmacist characteristics, provision of NSP, and pharmacists' comfort, attitudes, beliefs, and barriers to providing NSP. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to determine the correlates of NSP provision and pharmacists' comfort with providing information about safer injection of heroin and stimulants. KEY FINDINGS:Of the 643 pharmacists included in the analyses, 51.5% (n = 331) provided an NSP, with provision ranging from 35.0% in New South Wales to 82.1% in Western Australia. While most pharmacists providing NSPs believed that NSPs provide an opportunity to provide advice and referral to treatment services (56.2%) and education around the risks associated with illicit drug use/injecting drugs (59.0%), few pharmacists reported being comfortable providing information about safer injection of heroin (12.6%) and stimulants (12.7%). Reasons for not providing an NSP included a perceived lack of demand for the service (62.2%) and not enough monetary incentive (30.9%). CONCLUSIONS:Targeted initiatives are needed to strengthen community pharmacists' capacity to extend beyond needle and syringe provision to delivering harm reduction advice and referral. Addressing barriers, including perceived lack of demand and inadequate financial incentives, requires targeted policy support and sustainable funding to expand pharmacy-based NSPs.
BACKGROUND:Post-stroke fatigue and mental health disorders are common but often overlooked. Health professionals' perspectives play a critical role in recognizing, assessing, and managing these symptoms, which significantly influence recovery and quality of life. OBJECTIVES:To explore health professionals' perspectives of post-stroke treatments and identify factors influencing treatment preferences. METHODS:Vignette-based semi-structured interviews were conducted either in person or online/by telephone with health professionals, who were asked for their perspectives on four treatment vignettes using a 5-point Likert scale. Qualitative data were analysed thematically, and quantitative data were compared using non-parametric tests. Key themes were mapped to the Bio-Psycho-Social-Systems (BPSS) model to explore factors influencing treatment preferences. KEY FINDINGS:Sixteen of 20 health professionals provided numerical ratings. There were no significant differences in 'liking' ratings for any fatigue or mental health vignette. CBT was most frequently the most preferred option for managing fatigue (90.0%), followed by modafinil (10.0%). For mental health, nortriptyline was most frequently the most preferred treatment (37.5%), followed by herbal medicines plus fluoxetine and acupuncture (25.0% each) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (12.5%). Five influencing themes were mapped to the BPSS model: therapeutic side effects and safety concerns (biological); evidence base and perceived efficacy (biological); accessibility and system practicality (systems); patient preferences (psychological/social); and professional scope and confidence (psychological/systems). CONCLUSION:Whilst health professionals were open to non-pharmacological strategies for managing post-stroke complications, conventional pharmacotherapy was preferred, either alone or in combination with other therapies, especially for severe mental health disorders.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate recruitment and retention of older people with dementia in clinical trials focused on evaluating pharmacological interventions for the treatment of cognitive symptoms of dementia. METHODS:A scoping review conducted using Joanna Briggs Institute methodological guidance. A systematic search of five databases and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform was conducted from inception to July 2023, and updated in January 2025. Randomised controlled trials of any type in English were eligible if they included people ≥65 years, with a dementia diagnosis (any sub-type/stage), focused on pharmacological management of cognitive symptoms of dementia in any setting. Following screening and data extraction, findings were tabulated descriptively to present study characteristics and approaches to recruitment and retention. KEY FINDINGS:131 trials were included. Reasons for participant exclusion were having no carer present (n = 131 studies), and using specific medications such as anticholinergics (n = 28 studies). A small number of studies (n = 12) provided limited details on recruitment approaches. Recruitment strategies ranged from clinical referrals by investigators and treating physicians to community advertising and the re-engagement of previous trial participants. Reporting of retention approaches was limited across included studies. The mean sample size was 427 participants, and the mean retention rate was 75.4%, with adverse events, carer unavailability and withdrawal of consent among the most commonly reported reasons for discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS:Trials involving older people with dementia may not provide generalisable findings due to recruitment and retention challenges. Future research should focus on overcoming these challenges and clearly reporting strategies that may be of benefit to other researchers.
OBJECTIVES:Opioid prescription counts are increasing across Europe and in Switzerland, yet inappropriate co-prescribing of opioids is common, with serious unintended clinical effects. There is limited information about the opioid stewardship programmes (OSPs) implemented in Europe and Switzerland. The present study surveyed OSPs in Switzerland's hospitals to characterize implemented OSPs and assessed their association with staffing. METHODS:A 30-item questionnaire was sent to the director of every pharmacy in Switzerland's national hospital pharmacy association (n = 69). It addressed the pharmacy-reported use of seven types of OSP previously identified in the literature: automated decision support, opioid use guidelines, staff training, discussions of opioid issues/questions in committees, the availability of naloxone, interventions for appropriate opioid use and the monitoring of consumption. KEY FINDINGS:Thirty-one of the 69 institutions completed the survey (45%) and a further nine responded partially (13%). Hospitals had implemented a median of three of the seven OSPs covered (interquartile range: 2-5). Infrequently implemented OSPs included alert systems to detect high-risk situations involving opioids (15%), opioid use guidelines (41%), education on safe opioid use (32%) and monitoring of opioid or naloxone use (42%). Committees on safe opioid use (59%) and clinical pharmacy interventions addressing safe opioid use (62%) were more frequently implemented. Naloxone was rapidly available in all institutions. CONCLUSIONS:Switzerland's hospitals rarely implement the seven types of OSPs identified, suggesting that more coordinated approaches to improving opioid safety are needed. Our interpretations should be treated cautiously, nevertheless, due to potential non-response bias.
OBJECTIVES:The expansion of community pharmacist scopes of practice requires quality definitions and measurements suitable to assess community pharmacist-led clinical services that are distinct from dispensing processes. This review identifies quality measurement tools or individual performance indicators applicable to community pharmacist-led clinical services. METHODS:A scoping review was conducted according to the Arksey & O'Malley framework. A structured search of MEDLINE and EMBASE and grey literature was conducted for eligible records published between 2004 to December 2025 without language restriction. Title and abstract screening and full-text data extraction was independently performed by at least two reviewers. Content analysis was used to summarize the main findings. KEY FINDINGS:Twenty-three articles were included of 1579 total records screened and reviewed. Most studies (n = 17) were conducted in Europe or North America. The six characterized community pharmacist-led clinical services were: (1) medication reviews; (2) appropriate medication use; (3) population-specific care; (4) common or minor ailment prescribing; (5) general community pharmacy practice; and (6) patient satisfaction. Fourteen studies described quality measurement tool development, and nine studies applied indicators to measure quality of care. Publications reported indicators emphasizing process outcomes (n = 23) while fewer reported structure (n = 13) or outcomes (n = 12). Few quality indicator sets addressed all established dimensions of quality. CONCLUSION:Currently available quality indicator sets do not comprehensively assess the various domains of quality for contemporary community pharmacist-led clinical services. Our review highlights conceptual patterns, gaps, and implications for required future indicator development.
OBJECTIVES:Pharmacy-based influenza vaccination became part of New Zealand's public vaccination programme in 2017, eliminating out-of-pocket costs to consumers. This study evaluated trends in pharmacy-based influenza vaccination among adults aged ≥65 in New Zealand following the 2017 funding policy change, with the aim of examining whether the availability of government-funded influenza vaccination increased pharmacy-based vaccination in this population. METHODS:Data on influenza vaccinations administered between 2015 and 2021 to adults ≥65 were provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Health from the National Immunisation Register. Descriptive analyses were employed to assess the absolute number and percentage of vaccinations given by each provider type from 2015 through 2021 to document trends after the public funding policy change and in the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. KEY FINDINGS:The total number of influenza vaccinations administered increased from 322 161 in 2015 to 525 769 in 2021. After public funding for influenza vaccination began in pharmacies, annual physician- and nurse-administered vaccinations ranged from 401 840 to 426 005 and 12 590 to 19 586, respectively, between 2018 and 2021, while pharmacist-administered vaccinations steadily increased from 16 042 to 96 343. The percentage of influenza vaccinations administered by pharmacists grew from nearly 0% in 2015 to 3.7% in 2018 and 18.3% in 2021. CONCLUSIONS:Research findings suggest that public funding for pharmacist-administered influenza vaccinations contributed to expanding overall influenza vaccine access in New Zealand among adults ≥65. In addition, the increase in pharmacist-delivered vaccinations did not negatively impact vaccinations administered by traditional providers, further demonstrating the value and growing role of pharmacies in advancing national immunization efforts.
BACKGROUND:Understanding patient preferences is vital for promoting person-centred care, treatment adherence, and better health outcomes. Preferences across pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies may be influenced by a range of personal and contextual factors, but they are seldom explicitly described and considered in treatment recommendations. AIMS:To review the factors influencing patient preferences for various treatment options across a range of chronic health conditions. METHODS:A systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. Literature was searched across Google Scholar, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Medline (inception to April 2025), including English-language studies examining patient preferences for pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options in chronic health conditions. Studies were screened against predefined criteria and synthesized narratively. RESULTS:Seventeen studies were identified, involving persons diagnosed with osteoporosis, stroke, depression, early cancer, acute myeloid leukemia or advanced myelodysplastic syndrome, multiple chronic diseases, and people in aged care. Factors influencing preferences included sex/gender, age, beliefs (e.g. health conditions, treatment), ethnicity and culture, economic concerns, prior treatment experiences, perceptions of treatment safety and effectiveness, accessibility, interaction with healthcare providers, and family and social support. Among these, age was the most common influencer, with older adults more likely to prefer non-pharmacological strategies. Sex/gender also shaped preferences; females/women were more inclined toward non-pharmacological strategies. Ethnocultural beliefs were linked to increased use of complementary and alternative medicines. Furthermore, patients tended to prefer treatments they perceived as having fewer side-effects and greater long-term efficacy. Alignment with patients' preferred treatments was associated with greater satisfaction and improved clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION:This review underscores the multifactorial nature of patient preferences, shaped by demographics, culture, and perceptions. These findings highlight the importance of considering patient preferences in clinical trials and when developing treatment guidelines.
Abstract Introduction In Indonesia, Ministry of Health regulations encourage pharmacists’ engagement in managing and monitoring medication side-effects. However, the Indonesian national pharmacovigilance system only accepts adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports from hospital-based healthcare professionals and drug manufacturers.[1] Considering the mixed expectations of pharmacists as ADR reporters depending on their sector of work and their availability as a patient-facing healthcare professional (HCP), it is vital to explore how their role is perceived by members of the public in Indonesia. Aim This study aimed to explore public perspectives on the role of pharmacists as one of the HCPs involved in monitoring and managing side effects in Indonesia. Methods Following Ethics committee approval from the UK and Indonesian institutions, a piloted questionnaire was distributed to eligible participants in six study settings (three hospitals and three community pharmacies) in Indonesia. Participant inclusion criteria were: Indonesian residents aged 18 or over who had direct experience of, or cared for someone who experienced, a side-effect. Appointed pharmacist gatekeepers at the study sites displayed posters advertising the study and distributed paper questionnaires to eligible participants. Recruitment posters also included a QR code which participants could directly use to access the questionnaire online. Data were collected over eight weeks at each study site between March to June 2025. Data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and analysed using frequency tables. Results A total of 265 participants returned a questionnaire (paper = 263; online = 2); 160 participants had a personal experience while 105 were the carer of someone with an ADR. Of the 271 medications involved in the reported side-effects, the majority were to prescribed medication (142; 52.40%) and over the counter (OTC) medication (109; 40.22%). From all participants, 128 respondents (48.30%) had shared their experience: 103 (80.47%) had formally reported the side-effect to a healthcare professional (prescribed medicine: 73; OTC medicine: 27; other: 3). Participants most commonly reported side-effects to doctors (74; 71.84%); only a few of them (16; 15.53%) reported to pharmacists. Notably, participants also preferentially reported OTC medicine side-effects to doctors (14; 51.85%) compared to pharmacists (8; 29.63%). However, half the participants (49.86%) expected pharmacists to provide side-effect information compared to doctors (34.78%). Participants indicated that healthcare professionals should be proactive in the management of side-effects by: prescribing/supplying appropriate medication (255; 97.70%), providing information on common side-effects (253; 96.93%), recommending treatment for side-effects (235; 90.73%), and promoting side-effects to members of the public (252; 97.30%). Conclusion This study suggests that, despite societal expectations that pharmacists should provide side-effect information, patients do not generally report side-effects to them. Given OTC medicines accounted for 40% of side-effects experienced by participants, community pharmacists can have a pivotal role. Overcoming this missed opportunity by permitting community pharmacists to report ADRs to the national pharmacovigilance system is important for patient safety. This study captured the life-experience of many citizens; however, participants were self-selecting and their views may not represent those of non-responders. Further work is needed to explore pharmacists’ perspectives on ADR monitoring and improvements to the national pharmacovigilance system to promote reporting.
