Pharmacists' readiness to assess consumers' over-the-counter product selections.
OBJECTIVE
To measure and explain pharmacists' readiness to adopt a proposed new standard for assessing consumers' over-the-counter product selections.


METHODS
Cross-sectional, descriptive study based on the theoretical underpinnings of the Transtheoretical Model of Change. A questionnaire was used for data collection. Sections included: (1) pharmacists' readiness to engage in a proposed standard of practice; (2) the positive and negative aspects of doing so; (3) pharmacists' agreement with current legislative status of pharmacist-only products; and (4) demographics.


METHODS
Community pharmacy.


METHODS
Community pharmacists in one Canadian province.


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
Pharmacists' readiness to adopt a proposed new standard of care.


RESULTS
Response rate was 70.6%. Most respondents were staff pharmacists in independent pharmacies. The majority were not ready to adopt the proposed new behavior--57.6% were in the precontemplation stage. Age, sex, year of graduation, workload, and size of town/city had no significant effect on readiness for change. As expected, precontemplators showed less overall support for keeping pharmacist-only agents behind the counter. Positive and negative beliefs about the proposed standard varied across stages.


CONCLUSIONS
Any initiatives to increase pharmacist involvement in assessing consumer nonprescription product selections must acknowledge that pharmacists differ in their degree of readiness for change.
College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. taylorjg@duke.usask.ca
J
J
Taylor
B
B
Berger
H
H
Anderson-Harper
D
D
Grimley
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D003376:Counseling; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000523:psychology*; D012525:Saskatchewan; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D004366:Nonprescription Drugs