Health promotion in community pharmacy

In this study, health promotion activity in community pharmacies and pharmacists' perceptions of the barriers to increasing health promotion activity were investigated. A stratified sample (30) was investigated using a structured interview. Health promotion activities were undertaken in all pharmacies in the study. The number of times advice was given or a query dealt with was estimated to be around 1,400 per week for this sample. Health promotion activity was 2.5 times more likely to be reactive than proactive. Other issues were identified which suggest that pharmacists' activities in this field tend to be passive and product orientated. Barriers identified included remuneration issues, space, time, training and insufficient liaison with other health professionals and health promotion units.