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Managing obesity in pharmacy: the Australian experience

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Abstract

Objective To explore pharmacists’ opinions about the provision of weight management services in community pharmacy and their attitudes towards the establishment of an accredited training course in weight management in pharmacy. Setting Interviews were conducted with practising pharmacists on site in various community pharmacies in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. Method In-depth, semi-structured interviews with twenty practising pharmacists were conducted. Of the twenty interviewed pharmacists, sixteen were involved in the provision of one or more pharmacy based weight management programs in their pharmacies. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using the grounded theory approach. Main outcome measure The data were thematically analysed to identify facilitators and perceived barriers to the provision of high quality services, and pharmacists’ willingness to undertake training and accreditation. Results Participants clearly perceived a role for pharmacy in weight management. Key facilitators to provision of service were accessibility and the perception of pharmacists as trustworthy healthcare professionals. The pharmacists proposed collaboration with other healthcare professionals in order to provide a service incorporating diet, exercise and behavioural therapy. A program that was not-product-centred, and supported by ethical marketing was favoured. Appropriate training and accreditation were considered essential to assuring the quality of such services. Barriers to the provision of high quality services identified were: remuneration, pharmacy infrastructure, client demand and the current marketing of product-centred programs. Conclusion Australian pharmacists believe there is a role for pharmacy in weight management, provided training in accredited programs is made available. A holistic, evidence-based, multi-disciplinary service model has been identified as ideal.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all community pharmacists who participated in interviews.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflicts of interest

The Author(s) declare(s) that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, N508, Pharmacy and Bank Building A15, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Irene S. I. Um, Carol Armour, Ines Krass & Betty B. Chaar

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Timothy Gill

Authors
  1. Irene S. I. Um
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  2. Carol Armour
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  3. Ines Krass
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  4. Timothy Gill
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  5. Betty B. Chaar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Betty B. Chaar.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Interview protocol

(1) What is your opinion about the role that the community pharmacist should take in weight management?

Prompts:

  • Just selling products

  • Should have important role in education

  • Other professionals and what they are doing

  • Knowledge and skills of pharmacists

  • Community need

  • Consumer demand

(2) Which of the weight management programs available in the wider community and in pharmacy are you familiar with? What is your opinion of these programs?

Prompts:

  • Effectiveness

  • Evidence based

  • Comprehensive

  • Attractive to consumers

  • Profitable to the pharmacy

(3) Do you offer any weight management programs in your pharmacy?

If YES, Please describe the program you have in your pharmacy

  1. (a)

    What are your reasons for choosing that particular one?

Prompts:

  • Effectiveness

  • Attractive to consumers

  • Profitable to the pharmacy

  1. (b)

    What did you do before you commenced the program in terms of learning how to deliver it?

  2. (i)

    Training or education

OR

  1. (ii)

    If NO training, where did you acquire your information from in dealing with weight management counselling?

  2. (c)

    How confident are you in providing the program?

    • How confident are you in providing weight management counselling in general?

  3. (d)

    How/where do you go to deliver the program?

Prompts:

  • Consulting room

  • Equipment

  1. (e)

    How are outcomes assessed?

Prompts:

  • Weight monitoring? Frequency? Duration?

  • Retention within program

  • Participant adherence

  • Return for more product

  • What in your experience is the level of success or uptake of the program?

  • Were there any disadvantages of this program? If so, what would you change to improve it?

If NO, What are your reasons for not providing a program?

  1. (a)

    Do you think that pharmacy is suitable to provide this service?

  2. (b)

    What would need to change for you to initiate a program for weight management in your pharmacy?

Prompts:

  • Remuneration

  • Demand

  • Availability of programs

  • Training available

(4) What about the feasibility of initiating a program in pharmacy?

Prompts:

  • Infrastructure

  • Staff

(5) How would you describe the ideal weight management program in community pharmacy?

(6) Given the opportunity, would you be interested in participating in an accredited training course specifically tailored for pharmacists?

  1. (i)

    What topics and skills do you think it should cover?

  2. (ii)

    What format should it take?

    • Modules for self study and/or

    • Lectures/seminars/workshops/e-learning

  3. (iii)

    How much time would you be willing to devote to attend such a training course?

  4. (iv)

    Would you be willing to pay for such an accreditation course? If yes, how much?

(7) Is there anything further you would like to add?

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Um, I.S.I., Armour, C., Krass, I. et al. Managing obesity in pharmacy: the Australian experience. Pharm World Sci 32, 711–720 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-010-9426-5

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