A qualitative exploration of informal carers' experiences with medication management and accessing community pharmacy support for people with long-term conditions

Background: People with long-term conditions often require assistance from informal carers to support medication use. Therefore, carers frequently access community pharmacies to collect medications and seek advice. This study aimed to explore the experiences and support needs of carers in medication management (MM) within community pharmacies in the United Kingdom. Methods: Carers who provided unpaid support with MM for individuals with at least one long-term condition took part in semi-structured interviews. Experiences and perspectives regarding the barriers to, and facilitators of, MM roles and accessing community pharmacies were discussed. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using a reflexive thematic approach. Ethical approval was obtained from Newcastle University Research Ethics Committee (50254/2023). Results: = 17) providing care for one or both parents. The sample included a wide range of perspectives, reflected by diverse MM involvement, care recipients' conditions, and carers' backgrounds. Three themes were constructed: 1) the multifaceted nature of caring, 2) carers wading through MM related information and systems, and 3) community pharmacy staff supporting carers to feel empowered in MM. Conclusions: Carers undertake a broad range of complex MM roles as part of their wider caregiving responsibilities. Improving communication between community pharmacy staff and carers is vital to support their MM role and enable safe medication use. Carer support could be tailored to each individual's unique needs. Further research is needed to address how to structure carer support from the perspective of community pharmacy staff.