Introduction and aims

For the purpose of a research project on the non-dispensing of NHS prescriptions,(1) a community pharmacies network was established across two Primary Care Trusts. Forty-one pharmacies were approached regarding study participation, 34 of whom agreed to participate and 29 actually collected data. This abstract describes pharmacists' views on research participation.

Methods

Findings from both informal (conversations) and formal methods (questionnaire upon study completion) of exploring pharmacists' views on research participation are reported.
Results Twenty-four of the 29 (83%) participating pharmacists returned feedback questionnaires. Pharmacists' reasons for taking part in the project are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Pharmacists' reasons for study participation

In the context of Table 1 it is worth noting that 16 pharmacists asked to be issued with CPD certificates, as offered by the investigator. In two open questions, 18 and 15 pharmacists detailed the main benefits and problems in taking part. The most commonly mentioned benefits were raising personal, local and policy awareness of the issue under investigation, and satisfaction of being involved in a research project. The main problems concerned issues of time commitment, workload and remembering to complete the forms, especially during busy spells; and reminding other staff, particularly relief and locum pharmacists, to record data. These problems were the two most commonly mentioned reasons (n = 5 and 3) when the 12 non-participating pharmacists explained their decision to decline. Participating pharmacists were also asked their views on taking part in further research projects. Twenty-three pharmacists said they would be interested, and all of them agreed (21 strongly) that they might be interested in a project where data collection was similar to this one. Views on participating in other types of projects were more mixed. Pharmacists were reluctant to get involved in projects that involved speaking to customers to get information that could not be obtained as part of a typical interaction. They felt particularly reluctant to ask customers for personal details.

Discussion

This study provides some novel insights into pharmacists' reasons for research participation.(2,3) It is interesting that participation counting towards CPD was a strong incentive, whereas remuneration was much less so, unlike what was reported in previous research.(2) This may be because CPD has gained a higher profile of late, and participating pharmacists were part of the first roll-out of CPD. This study further shows that many pharmacists are indeed willing to get involved in research,(2) but that they differentiate between different types of projects. Barriers and incentives for establishing and maintaining a pharmacy research network, as highlighted in pharmacists' feedback, are important in the context of building research capacity in primary care, and pharmacy in particular, where the aim is to make 10% of pharmacists research active.(4)

1. Schafheutle EI. Collection of information on the non-dispensing of NHS prescriptions through a community pharmacies network. 2003. Sixth Annual Conference of the UK Federation of Primary Care Research Networks: Capacity and Capability, Birmingham, 24 / 25 Nov 2003, Conference Proceedings, pages 26-27.
2. Rosenbloom, K, Taylor, K, Harding, G. Community pharmacists' attitudes towards research. The International Journal of Pharmacy Practice 2000; 8: 103-110.
3. Seston, E, Hassell, K, Cantrill, J, Nicolson, M, Noyce, P, Schafheutle, E. Experiences of establishing and maintaining a community pharmacy research network. Primary Health Care Research and Development 2003; 4: 245-255.
4. Pharmacy Practice Research and Development Task Force. A New Age for Pharmacy Practice Research: Promoting Evidence-Based Practice in Pharmacy. London: Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, 1997.