title: Patients' reasons for accepting a free community pharmacy asthma service.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Challenges in recruiting patients at the pharmacy counter for cognitive services have been observed, hampering development in this area. To overcome this barrier, insight into the patient perspective is crucial to understanding their lack of appreciation of the services. However, very few studies have been conducted so far to explore why patients accept or decline offers of cognitive services at the pharmacy counter.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore patients' reasons for accepting a particular cognitive service (the Inhaler Technique Assessment Service) a service intended to detect inhalation technique errors. The service is reimbursed by the Danish state and takes approximately 10 min. Setting Ten community pharmacies located in different regions of Denmark, including the center and suburbs of Copenhagen.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two types of interviews were conducted: long and short semi-structured interviews with 24 patients suffering mainly from asthma and COPD. Researchers from Copenhagen University conducted 11 long interviews and pharmacy internship students from Copenhagen University carried out 13 short interviews. The interviews were analyzed using descriptive analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients' perceived needs of an inhalation counseling service as well as their motivation for accepting the service, including their accounts of how the service was orally offered by staff.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of participants were used to using inhaler devices. The participants felt, for several reasons, little need of an inhaler service and seldom noticed the precise way the service was offered. Patients did not seem to accept the service expecting personal benefits. First timers appeared to accept the service to learn how to use the device correctly, whereas experienced users appeared to accept the ITAS to be helpful to staff or to learn more about health issues in general or were convinced by individual employees who showed a special interest in the participant receiving the service. Privacy problems were felt by several participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The patients felt little need for the inhaler counseling service. Patients however accepted the service for various reasons of which the feeling how staff showing an interest in helping them seemed especially convincing.
authors.affiliation: Section for Social and Clinical Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark. susanne.kaae@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaae
authors.affiliation: Section for Social and Clinical Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
authors.forename: Sofia Kälvemark
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sporrong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003376:Counseling / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive services; Community pharmacy; Denmark; Inhaler technique; Recruitment