title: A qualitative study of pharmacy nurse providers of community based post-birth care in Queensland, Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reduced length of hospital stay following childbirth has placed increasing demands on community-based post-birth care services in Australia. Queensland is one of several states in Australia in which nurses are employed privately by pharmacies to provide maternal and child health care, yet little is known about their prevalence, attributes or role. The aims of this paper are to (1) explore the experiences and perspectives of a sample of pharmacy nurses and GPs who provide maternal and child health services in Queensland, Australia (2) describe the professional qualifications of the sample of pharmacy nurses, and (3) describe and analyze the location of pharmacy nurse clinics in relation to publicly provided services.
  
  
  METHODS
  As part of a state-wide evaluation of post-birth care in Queensland, Australia, case studies were conducted in six regional and metropolitan areas which included interviews with 47 key informants involved in postnatal care provision. We report on the prevalence of pharmacy nurses in the case study sites, and on the key informant interviews with 19 pharmacy nurses and six General Practitioners (GPs). The interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of pharmacy nurses appears to be highest where public services are least well integrated, coordinated and/or accessible. Pharmacy nurses report high levels of demand for their services, which they argue fill a number of gaps in the public provision of maternal and child health care including accessibility, continuity of carer, flexibility and convenient location. The concerns of pharmacy nurses include lack of privacy for consultations, limited capacity for client record keeping and follow up, and little opportunity for professional development, while GPs expressed concerns about inadequate public care and about the lack of regulation of pharmacy based care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pharmacy based clinics are a market-driven response to gaps in the public provision of care. Currently there are no minimum standards or qualifications required of pharmacy nurses, no oversight or regulation of their practice, and no formal mechanisms for communicating with other providers of postnatal care. We discuss the implications and possible mechanisms to enhance best-practice care.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Science Research and School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. m.zadoroznyj@uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zadoroznyj
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Brodribb
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Falconer
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.forename: Casey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Northam
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kruske
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners; D006272:Health Facility Environment; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009726:Nurses; D010594:Pharmacies / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D018907:Privacy; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011793:Queensland; D011996:Records