Abstract
Objectives To explore the pharmaceutical care needs of, and service provision to, older people with sensory impairment (visual, hearing and dual impairment) on prescribed polypharmacy (≥4 medicines) in Scotland. Design Interviews were conducted with older people with sensory impairment and community pharmacy personnel, which informed the content of a subsequent national cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists. Setting Scotland, 2015-2016. Participants Older people with sensory impairment and community pharmacy personnel. Results Interviews were completed with 23 older people with sensory impairment (dual impairment n=13, visual or hearing impairment n=5 of each) and 30 community pharmacy personnel from eight of 14 Scottish Health Boards. A total of 171 survey responses were received. Older people reported that they did not always disclose their sensory impairment to pharmacy personnel. They also reported that medicines were difficult to identify particularly when their name, shape or colour changed. Pharmacy personnel relied on visible cues such as white canes or guide dogs to identify visual impairment and suggested that hearing loss was less visible and more difficult to identify. Many assistive aids in support of medicine management, such as dosette boxes, seemed inadequate for complex medication regimens. Few community pharmacy personnel reported receiving training in the care of people with sensory impairment. Conclusions This is the first comprehensive, multistakeholder, in-depth exploration of the pharmaceutical care needs of older people with sensory impairment. Strategies are needed to enable people with sensory impairment to disclose their impairment to pharmacy personnel (and other healthcare providers). Community pharmacy personnel require training to deliver person-centred pharmaceutical care for older people with sensory impairment particularly regarding communication with individuals in this vulnerable population.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e023198 |
| Journal | BMJ Open |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:contributed to the manuscript refinement and are responsible for its content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. NA contributed towards data coding, analysis, interpretation and manuscript production. LM, AS and KMS contributed to the scientific development, conduct, interpretation of the study and revisions. AJT contributed towards data coding, analysis interpretation and revision. KK conducted all interviews, data collection, interpretation of the study and revisions. TK contributed to the scientific development of the study, reviewed the data analysis and its interpretation and the editing and development of the manuscript. MW led the scientific development and interpretation of the study, manuscript production and revisions. Funding We are grateful to the Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government which funded this study (CZH/4/1113).
Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Keywords
- community pharmacies
- health services for the aged
- hearing impairment
- pharmaceutical services
- visual impairment
