“But Will It Last?”: Examining How Pharmacy Staff Perceptions Influence Beliefs About the Sustainability of a Pharmacy-Based Intervention Targeting Older Adult Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medication Misuse

Sustaining a well-designed healthcare intervention justifies the resources allocated during its conceptualization and implementation and maximizes its clinical benefits, but staff influences on sustainment have been studied insufficiently. This study evaluates the effects of pharmacy staff (i.e., pharmacists/technicians) perceptions about the sustainability of Senior SafeTM, a U.S. pharmacy-based intervention to reduce older adult over-the-counter (OTC) medication misuse. Three months after introducing Senior Safe into 67 pharmacies in a large Midwestern health-system, all pharmacy staff (N = 279) received a survey invitation. Fifty-nine pharmacists and 94 technicians completed the survey. Using logistic regression modeling for the 14 belief-based survey items, and staff roles (pharmacist or technician), the final factors significantly predicting staff views that Senior Safe was sustainable were as follows: perceiving Senior Safe as well-integrated into leadership operations (OR = 5.606, p < 0.001) and believing the intervention reduced OTC misuse (OR = 8.217, p < 0.001). Also, technicians were more confident than pharmacists about Senior Safe’s sustainment and its OTC misuse reduction success. Overall, an intervention’s sustainability relies on those using it. Since the principal predictor of maintaining Senior Safe was its perceived effectiveness, increasing staff buy-in and awareness of an intervention’s benefits may be central to its long-term viability. With an aging U.S. population, sustainable solutions to older adult medication misuse remain critical.