Stakeholders’ views on the development and adoption of health policies related to pharmacist scope of practice and the pharmacy practice environment in Australia

Background Translating research on Pharmacy Practice Environments and Pharmacists’ Scope of Practice (PPEAPSOP) into actionable policy requires a comprehensive understanding of policy components, underpinning processes, and identifying barriers and enablers influencing policy formulation and adoption. This research examined the influences on the development and adoption of PPEAPSOP policies and whether frameworks, theories or models (FTMs) are employed to support these processes.Method Three focus groups and ten semi-structured interviews were conducted, adopting a qualitative design between May and September 2025. Participants were identified using the RISA tool and included pharmacists, medical practitioners, organisational, government and consumer representatives. Focus groups and interviews were recorded, transcribed and deductively thematically analysed using NVivo and a 16-item checklist.Results Twenty-six participants participated in focus groups (n = 16) and semi-structured interviews (n = 10). Six themes ‘Actors’, ‘Narratives’, ‘Politics’, ‘Environment’, ‘Structural and Systemic Factors’ and ‘Implications’ and twenty-five sub-themes were identified. Barriers included misalignment or opposition to PPEAPSOP policies, risks to expanded scope, structural and systemic factors and political influences. Enablers included alignment and collaboration, narratives with contextualised evidence, diffusion, innovation and future implications. Medical practitioners and government participants focused more on ‘Implications’ and ‘Risks’ compared to pharmacists and consumers, who focused more on ‘Narratives’ and ‘Evidence’. Established FTMs were underutilised by policymakers and decision makers in the development or adoption of PPEAPSOP policies.Conclusions The development and adoption of PPEAPSOP policies depend on alignment amongst policy actors, navigation of systemic constraints, strategic foresight of policy implications, and a narrative grounded in robust evidence, =contextualised to the policy environment. Current approaches to the development and adoption of PPEAPSOP policies highlight gaps, underscoring the need for a flexible framework for policymakers and decision makers to strengthen and accelerate policy outcomes. Exploration of a framework may align key components and support more coherent, evidence-informed approaches to targeted policy development and adoption.