Developing consensus around the pharmaceutical public health competencies for community pharmacists in Scotland.
OBJECTIVE
The new community pharmacy contract in Scotland will formalise the role of pharmacists in delivering public health services. To facilitate assessment of education and training needs it is necessary to define the relevant public health competencies for community pharmacists. The objective of this research was to define and develop consensus around such competencies.


METHODS
The "Skills for Health National Occupational Standards for Public Health Practitioners" was used to define an initial set of competencies. A two stage Delphi technique was undertaken to develop consensus. An expert panel, representing public health and pharmacy stakeholders, rated their agreement with the importance of each competency, with the agreement level set at 90%.


METHODS
Level of agreement (%) with each public health competency; those competencies achieving more than 90% agreement with importance for community pharmacy practice.


RESULTS
Ten organisations (83% of those invited) and a total of 30 members (88%) agreed to take part in the process. In round 1 of the Delphi, responses were received from 25 (83%) individuals and 22 (73%) in round 2, with consensus being achieved for 25/68 (37%) competencies in round 1 and a further 8/68 (12%) in round 2.


CONCLUSIONS
Public health competencies for community pharmacists achieving consensus predominantly focused on health improvement activities at individual and local community levels and ethical management of self rather than those relating to surveillance and assessment and strategic development. There is a need to research community pharmacists' views of these competencies and to systematically assess their education and training needs.
Pfleger
David E
DE
School of Pharmacy, The Robert Gordon University, Schoolhill, Aberdeen AB10 1FR, Scotland, UK.
McHattie
Lorna W
LW
Diack
H Lesley
HL
McCaig
Dorothy J
DJ
Stewart
Derek C
DC
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services; D003697:Delphi Technique; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010595:Pharmacists; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards*; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012606:Scotland
Addiction. 2001 Feb;96(2):325-31
11182878
Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2002 Sep;11(6):503-13
12426936
Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1997 Aug;44(2):167-70
9278203
Intensive Care Med. 2006 Sep;32(9):1371-83
16841214
Tob Control. 1998 Autumn;7(3):253-61
9825420
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;(1):CD003698
14974031