Using computer-tailored smoking-cessation advice in community pharmacy: A feasibility study

Autor: Lisa Hodges, Hazel Gilbert, Stephen Sutton
Rok vydání: 2009
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Pharmacy Practice. 17:365-368
ISSN: 2042-7174
0961-7671
Popis: Objective Community pharmacists are in an optimal position to provide smoking-cessation services. Computer-based interventions that generate behavioural feedback materials designed to encourage and help smokers to quit can complement existing services and ensure that smoking-cessation advice is reliably delivered. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of offering a system of computer-generated individually tailored behavioural feedback for smoking cessation in community pharmacy. Method The setting was community pharmacies in North London. Pharmacists, already offering cessation advice routinely in the pharmacy, were trained to use a computer-based system generating a feedback report containing highly tailored behavioural advice about quitting. Pharmacists' advice was structured around the report, which was printed for the participant. Pharmacists were interviewed after recruitment ended, and participants were sent a follow-up questionnaire 4 weeks after baseline. Key findings Pharmacists felt they had benefited from taking part in the study and were more confident in their management of, and advice to, smokers. All agreed that the computer program was an acceptable and valuable tool to aid smoking-cessation advice in pharmacies. Eleven smokers were recruited; five completed the follow-up, four of whom reported 4-week prolonged abstinence. Reaction to the feedback report from participants was positive. Conclusions The feedback from both pharmacists and participants demonstrates that use of this computer system to structure and standardise delivery of smoking-cessation advice in community pharmacy is feasible and acceptable. The study suggests that the use of this system could increase pharmacists' confidence and the quality of the advice they give, leading to improved outcomes. However, a randomised controlled trial to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the system is needed.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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