Pharmacists' role in smoking cessation: an examination of current practice and barriers to service provision

Abstract

Objective This study addressed the potential role of pharmacists in helping their patients to quit smoking by providing a summary of their self-reported levels of current activities, confidence, and readiness to change around the provision of brief advice and support for patients who smoke. In addition to investigating which barriers are perceived to be most important, this study also examined the relative importance of confidence, barriers and practice factors in relation to pharmacists' smoking cessation practices. Method A 58-item questionnaire was mailed to 720 pharmacists. The questionnaire measured demographic and background variables, level of smoking cessation activity (asking, advising, assessing, assisting and arranging including follow-up), confidence in undertaking smoking-cessation activities, readiness to change, perceived importance of barriers to providing smoking-cessation services, and further education or training in relation to smoking cessation. Setting Community pharmacists in South Australia. Key findings Respondents indicated high rates of activity in relation to assessing and assisting patients to quit smoking, with lower rates of advising and arranging including following up. Recording of smoking status was very low. Confidence emerged as the most important predictor of smoking-cessation activities, with pharmacist barriers including fear of alienating patients approaching significance. Reported levels of smoking-specific education and training were low. Conclusions South Australian pharmacists are contributing to the prevention of tobacco-related harms. With additional support there is a greater scope for involvement. Results indicate a need for a team-based, systematic and multifaceted approach to address barriers and enhance pharmacists' confidence. Further implementation research is required to assess the effectiveness of multifaceted pharmacy support programmes on the uptake and sustainability of smoking-cessation services.