Role of community pharmacy in HIV prevention takes spotlight in JAPhA published research articles
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Are community-based pharmacists underused in the care of persons living with HIV? That’s one key question explored in research and experience articles published in the January/February 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.
The CDC estimates that more than 1.1 million people older than age 13 years are living with HIV infection in the United States, and almost 16% of those are currently unaware of their infection. Over the past decade, the number of new HIV infections in the United States has remained relatively stable at about 50,000 per year. Unfortunately, for patients in some rural communities easy access to physicians, hospitals and community health centers prevents testing and treatment. However, more than 85% of Americans live within a 10-mile radius of a community pharmacy. The accessibility of local pharmacists is an untapped resource for the delivery of effective and confidential HIV education, testing and care services.
The roles that community pharmacists play HIV prevention, testing and care are explored in several research and experience articles in the January/February 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. The four articles discuss community pharmacists’ roles and pharmacists’ perceptions of their patient care services among people living with HIV.
The objective of the lead research article, "Are community-based pharmacists underused in the care of persons living with HIV? A need for structural and policy changes," by Jennifer Kibicho, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, formerly at the Medical College of Wisconsin, et al., was: “To describe community pharmacists’ perceptions on their current role in direct patient care services, an expanded role for pharmacists in providing patient care services, and changes needed to optimally use pharmacists’ expertise to provide high-quality direct patient care services to people living with HIV infections.”
A second research article, "Nonprescription syringe sales: A missed opportunity for HIV prevention in California," by Robin Pollini, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, et al., sought to: “assess implementation of California Senate Bill SB41 in two inland California counties where prevalence of injection drug use is among the highest in the nation.”
The objective of an experience report, "Pharmacist-provided rapid HIV testing in two community pharmacies," by Kristin Darin, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, et al., was: “To evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of pharmacist-provided rapid testing for HIV infection in community pharmacies.” The objective of Darin’s related research notes was: “To evaluate consumers’ interest in pharmacist-provided HIV screening and to evaluate potential barriers and facilitators to HIV screening in the community pharmacy setting.”
The full-text articles are available for a limited time, free of charge on the Journal’s website.