title: Pharmacists' attitudes and perceived barriers to provision of adherence support in Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adherence to therapy is a key to achieving good clinical outcomes. Promoting medication adherence requires a range of strategies that primarily focus on fostering behavioral change. Community pharmacists are well placed to deliver adherence support to patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate community pharmacists' activities in supporting patient medication adherence in their practice; and to assess pharmacists' attitudes and barriers to adherence support.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 500 pharmacies was randomly selected from a list of community pharmacies in the state of New South Wales (Australia) and mailed a questionnaire focusing on provision of adherence support, pharmacists' attitudes, and barriers to adherence support. Two follow-up reminders were sent to non-responding pharmacies after 2 and 6 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A response rate of 27.6 % was achieved (n = 126), consistent with recent research studies. For less than half (42 %) of prescriptions dispensed, pharmacists reported providing strategies to identify non-adherent patients. Providing dose administration aids was the most common method to support adherence used by pharmacists (95 %). Most (98 %) agreed that it was their role to promote patients' adherence. However 64 and 52 % reported that patients' time pressures and poor health literacy, respectively, were the main barriers to provision of adherence support. Around 25 % of respondents reported that they had received training programs on providing medication adherence support.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Community pharmacists employed a limited range of strategies to identify and address non-adherence to medications. Moreover, the provision of adherence support was episodic and infrequent. However, the majority of pharmacists believed that it is their role to promote patients adherence. Time pressures for both pharmacists and patients were perceived to be a major barrier.
authors: Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Building A15, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia, sman4717@uni.sydney.edu.au.
authors: Sarab M
authors: SM
authors: Mansoor
authors: Parisa
authors: P
authors: Aslani
authors: Ines
authors: I
authors: Krass
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence / Q000523:psychology*; D009517:New South Wales; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000523:psychology*
references: J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther. 2013 Jan;18(1):19-30
references: 22505149
references: Australas Med J. 2011;4(4):190-200
references: 23393510
references: J Am Pharm Assoc (Wash). 2000 Jul-Aug;40(4):475-85
references: 10932456
references: Patient Educ Couns. 2006 Dec;64(1-3):151-8
references: 16427764
references: Arch Intern Med. 2007 Mar 26;167(6):540-50
references: 17389285
references: Health Info Libr J. 2010 Sep;27(3):208-16
references: 20712715
references: Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2001 Apr;57(1):77-83
references: 11372597
references: J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2005 Nov-Dec;45(6):743-5
references: 16381423
references: J Clin Pharm Ther. 2006 Oct;31(5):409-19
references: 16958818
references: J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2009 Jan-Feb;49(1):26-30
references: 19196593
references: Respirology. 2000 Sep;5(3):281-7
references: 11022992
references: J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2004 Jul-Aug;44(4):517-20
references: 15372872
references: J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2003 Jan-Feb;5(1):31-7
references: 12556651
references: J Am Pharm Assoc (Wash). 2000 Nov-Dec;40(6):773-9
references: 11111357
references: Circulation. 2009 Jun 16;119(23):3028-35
references: 19528344
references: Curr Hypertens Rep. 2000 Dec;2(6):510-4
references: 11062595
references: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2002;(2):CD000011
references: 12076376
references: J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2002 Dec 15;31 Suppl 3:S123-7
references: 12562034
references: Aust Health Rev. 2004 Nov 8;28(2):238-46
references: 15527404
references: Int J Pharm Pract. 2012 Jun;20(3):155-63
references: 22554158
references: Pediatrics. 2002 Jul;110(1 Pt 1):e6
references: 12093987
references: Circulation. 2010 Mar 30;121(12):1455-8
references: 20351303
references: Diabetes Care. 2004 May;27(5):1218-24
references: 15111553
references: Ann Pharmacother. 2008 Jun;42(6):861-8
references: 18477730
references: N Engl J Med. 2005 Aug 4;353(5):487-97
references: 16079372
references: Pharmacotherapy. 2000 Feb;20(2):119-22
references: 10678289