A qualitative study exploring opportunities for pharmacists to connect with young mental health consumers

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McMillan, Sara S
Stapleton, Helen
Stewart, Victoria
Wheeler, Amanda J
Kelly, Fiona
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2020
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Abstract

Objective: To explore how pharmacists can best support young people using medication for any mental health condition. The experiences of obtaining or supplying psychotropic medication and recommendations for service improvement were explored from the perspectives of young people, community pharmacists, and key stakeholders. Design: A qualitative study using semistructured interviews with young people and pharmacists and the nominal group technique as a consensus method for stakeholders. Setting and participants: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 18 young people and a nominal group with 6 stakeholders at 1 of 2 mental health support organizations in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Phone conversations were held with 11 pharmacists who were located across Australia. The young people were aged between 14 and 25 years, had used a mental health medication for the previous 2 months, and lived in the community. Pharmacists recognized as mental health advocates or providing a mental health service and stakeholders from 1 support organization were purposively recruited. Outcome measures: Themes related to the current and potential roles for pharmacists when interacting with young people using psychotropic medication. Results: There was limited awareness of the role of pharmacists, possibly because of the largely transactional nature of the young people’s pharmacy experiences. However, young people perceived value in receiving information from pharmacists about their psychotropic medication, in particular, their adverse effects, and interactions with alcohol and other recreational drugs. Respectful communication and access to a private space to discuss sensitive matters were ways that pharmacists could encourage the development of supportive relationships with young people. Conclusion: This study provides unique insights about the experiences of young people using psychotropic medication within community pharmacies. There is an imperative for pharmacists to move beyond a transactional or reactive approach to create a safe health space and address young people's medication concerns beyond initial supply.

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Journal of the American Pharmacists Association

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© 2020 American Pharmacists Association. Published by Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence, which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.

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This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version.

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Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences

Health services and systems

Public health

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McMillan, SS; Stapleton, H; Stewart, V; Wheeler, AJ; Kelly, F, A qualitative study exploring opportunities for pharmacists to connect with young mental health consumers, Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 2020

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