Views of the general public on the role of pharmacy in public health

Objectives: To determine the views of healthy adults on the importance of activities aimed at improving public health, on the role of community pharmacies in contributing to these and on a range of potential pharmacy-based public health services. Method: Three hundred healthy adults completed a questionnaire developed from the literature, using a street survey technique in an English city centre. Key findings: More than half of the respondents (57%) were infrequent pharmacy users, but 65% (195) had asked for advice about health and/or medicines from community pharmacy staff and 41.3% (124) had received unsolicited advice on health. Only 23% considered that pharmacies were the best place from which to seek general health advice, irrespective of frequency of pharmacy use. There was a general lack of awareness of pharmacy capacity and role in public health. With the exception of smoking-cessation support, the role of pharmacy in providing activities related to improving public health did not relate to respondents views on the importance of the activity. However, most supported the provision of specific services by pharmacies, especially among frequent pharmacy users. A significant proportion of respondents said they would not use pharmacy as a source of public health advice, due to issues around confidentiality, privacy, space and busyness. Conclusions: There is little awareness of pharmacy's involvement in providing services designed to improve public health among the general public and a need exists to market these effectively. More research is required to further explore the public's views on how to facilitate pharmacy's contribution to public health.