Community pharmacists’ acceptability of pharmacist-delivered depression screening for older adults: a qualitative study

Background Late-life depression often goes underdiagnosed and undertreated, affecting the quality of life of older adults. Pharmacists are well-placed to identify older adults who may be at risk of depression by using appropriate screening tools. Aim To explore community pharmacists’ acceptability of performing late-life depression screening in Australian community pharmacies. Method Semi-structured interviews with community pharmacists were conducted to gauge their perceptions regarding delivering depression screening services for older adults. Data analysis was conducted using an iterative, inductive approach. Key themes were identified, which were further explored and divided into subthemes. Subthemes were categorised as either barriers or facilitators. Each subtheme was mapped to the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour model by classifying whether they impacted pharmacists’ capability, opportunity, or motivation regarding depression screening. Results Fifteen pharmacists were interviewed, 12 of whom were female and 11 of whom practised in a metropolitan area. Four key themes were identified including: training needs, environmental factors, pharmacists’ roles, and organisational support, which were further divided into 13 subthemes. Three subthemes were mapped to Capability, seven to Opportunity and three to Motivation. Barriers included lack of resources and lack of remuneration, while facilitators included training, pharmacists’ accessibility, and rapport with consumers. Conclusion The findings of this study demonstrate that while community pharmacists found depression screening for older adults in community pharmacies to be an acceptable service, there remains a need for the development of funding schemes and standardised guidelines for pharmacist-delivered depression screening for older adults.