title: Barriers to medication counselling for people with mental health disorders: a six country study.
abstract: Provision of medication information may improve adherence and prevent medication related problems. People with mental health disorders commonly receive less medication counselling from pharmacists than people with other common long term and persistent disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to compare and contrast barriers pharmacy students perceive toward providing medication counselling for people with mental health disorders in Australia, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, India and Latvia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Barriers identified by third-year pharmacy students as part of the International Pharmacy Students' Health Survey were content analysed using a directed approach. Students' responses were categorised as pharmacist related, patient related, health-system related, or social or cultural related. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 14.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Survey instruments were returned by 649 students. Of the respondents, 480 identified one or more barriers to medication counselling for people with mental health disorders. Patient related factors accounted for between 25.3% and 36.2% of barriers identified by the pharmacy students. Pharmacist related factors accounted for between 17.6% and 45.1% of the barriers identified by the pharmacy students. Students in India were more likely to attribute barriers to pharmacist and social and cultural related factors, and less likely to health-system related factors, than students studying in other countries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The nature of barriers identified by pharmacy students differed according to the country in which they studied. Undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy education programs may need to be amended to address common misconceptions among pharmacy students.
authors.affiliation: Division of Social Pharmacy. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki ( Finland ) [Now: Porvoon Uusi Apteekki, Porvoo (Finland)].
authors.forename: S Elina
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Aaltonen
authors.affiliation: Division of Social Pharmacy. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki ( Finland ). [Now: Vihdin Apteekki, Helsinki (Finland)].
authors.forename: Niina P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Laine
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacy. Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu ( Estonia ).
authors.forename: Daisy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Volmer
authors.affiliation: Community Pharmacy Division. Indian Pharmaceutical Association India; K.M. Kundnani Pharmacy Polytechnic. Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra ( India ).
authors.forename: Manjiri S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Gharat
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Latvia ( Latvia ).
authors.forename: Ruta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muceniece
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Riga Stradins University ( Latvia ).
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vitola
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Pharmaceutical Care and Pharmacoeconomics. Faculty of Pharmacy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven ( Belgium ).
authors.forename: Veerle
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Foulon
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Pharmaceutical Care and Pharmacoeconomics. Faculty of Pharmacy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven ( Belgium ).
authors.forename: Franciska A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Desplenter
authors.affiliation: Division of Social Pharmacy. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki ( Finland ).
authors.forename: Marja S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Airaksinen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney ( Australia ).
authors.forename: Timothy F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Division of Social Pharmacy. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki ( Finland ). [Now: Kuopio Research Centre of Geriatric Care, and Clinical Pharmacology and Geriatric Pharmacotherapy Unit. School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland (Finland)].
authors.forename: J Simon
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Bell
keywords: Attitude of Health Personnel; Australia; Belgium; Community Pharmacy Services; Estonia; Finland; India; Latvia; Mental Disorders