Abstract
Background: Pharmacists are increasingly providing more clinically-orientated services that focus on enhancing patient care and health promotion. However, little is known about how acceptable this is to the public. This study explored public preferences for a community pharmacy-based health check for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Methods: A convenience sample of 423 individuals was recruited (from a community pharmacy, a dental practice, a shopping centre, a university campus and a sports centre) to complete a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) survey administered face to face on a tablet. The DCE included six attributes: day of the week (weekday or weekends); way of accessing the service (walk-in and wait or by appointment); provider of health check (trainee pharmacist, pharmacist or nurse); duration of health check (30 or 45 minutes); follow-up phone-call (no, yes and within 3 months); and cost (included to estimate the monetary value
of health checks). Experimental design methods were used to create twelve choice tasks describing different health check services. Mixed logit (MXL) was used to analyse response data.
Results: Respondents had a preference for a community pharmacy-based CVD health check over no health check. They preferred a service provided: i) at the weekend; ii) by appointment; iii) by a nurse; iv) for 30 minutes v) with follow-up after 3 months. Respondents were willing to pay £50 for this health check.
Conclusion: Findings affirm the public’s acceptance and value of a pharmacy-led CVD health check. The findings can inform pharmacy-based screening services before they are introduced, guide new service design and support resource allocation decisions.
Methods: A convenience sample of 423 individuals was recruited (from a community pharmacy, a dental practice, a shopping centre, a university campus and a sports centre) to complete a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) survey administered face to face on a tablet. The DCE included six attributes: day of the week (weekday or weekends); way of accessing the service (walk-in and wait or by appointment); provider of health check (trainee pharmacist, pharmacist or nurse); duration of health check (30 or 45 minutes); follow-up phone-call (no, yes and within 3 months); and cost (included to estimate the monetary value
of health checks). Experimental design methods were used to create twelve choice tasks describing different health check services. Mixed logit (MXL) was used to analyse response data.
Results: Respondents had a preference for a community pharmacy-based CVD health check over no health check. They preferred a service provided: i) at the weekend; ii) by appointment; iii) by a nurse; iv) for 30 minutes v) with follow-up after 3 months. Respondents were willing to pay £50 for this health check.
Conclusion: Findings affirm the public’s acceptance and value of a pharmacy-led CVD health check. The findings can inform pharmacy-based screening services before they are introduced, guide new service design and support resource allocation decisions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 7 Dec 2021 |
