Pharmacist support for selling syringes without a prescription to injection drug users in Rhode Island.
OBJECTIVE
To examine pharmacists' attitudes and obstacles to syringe sales to IDUs without prescriptions in Rhode Island, around the time that such sales became legal in the state.


METHODS
Self-administered written survey.


METHODS
Rhode Island.


METHODS
400 randomly selected pharmacist members of the Rhode Island Pharmacists Association.


METHODS
Responses to survey items.


RESULTS
Of the 400 pharmacists contacted, 131 (33%) completed and returned the survey; of these, 101 (77%) were pharmacists who worked in stores that provided direct nonprescription syringe sales to the public. The majority of these 101 pharmacists were willing to sell syringes to a suspected IDU without a prescription (65%), favored providing free sharps containers for disposal (68%), and supported providing pamphlets on safer injection practices (88%). Willingness to sell syringes to IDUs without a prescription was significantly correlated with various beliefs about possible consequences of sales.


CONCLUSIONS
The high level of support for nonprescription syringe sales to IDUs is promising. The correlation between the willingness to sell syringes to IDUs without a prescription and various beliefs suggests that future educational interventions might encourage pharmacists to sell syringes to this population without a prescription to decrease HIV and hepatitis transmission.
Rich
Josiah D
JD
Brown Medical School, and The Miriam Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island 02906, USA. jrich@lifespan.org
Martin
Erika G
EG
Macalino
Grace E
GE
Paul
Rowan V
RV
McNamara
Susan
S
Taylor
Lynn E
LE
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010595:Pharmacists; D055656:Prescriptions; D012237:Rhode Island; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D013594:Syringes / Q000600:supply & distribution*