Experiences of the Pharmacy-Led Weight Management Service: Views of Service Providers in England
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Design
2.2. Study Setting and Sample
2.3. Data Collection
2.4. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Knowledge, Training and Support
“Primary prevention, I think weight loss [...] one of the biggest contributors to cardiovascular disease is obesity, so yeah.”(GBW003)
“Obviously, if you have a problem with the cholesterol, you try to bring everything down in what you’re eating. Those’re the options. Yeah, and it’s all about lifestyle changes”.(GBW005)
“We originally went down to […] Council where they do a 2-day training session, and then they do a refresher every couple of years… It’s the go-to nutrition of people’s lifestyle, mindset, and actually how to read traffic lights and stuff like that.”(GBW006)
“Okay, the course that we did was three days long, and it was quite intensive, and they take you through everything: how to screen somebody, how to... It wasn’t like a dietitian course, so it was mainly how to run the programme from start to finish. How to measure, how to approach healthy things… things which [are] high in calories, high in fat… meats as well as fats, like, some people you know believe that there is no sugar in one thing when actually there is a lot of sugar in it, so they teach you that as well, so it’s quite interesting for your own benefit.”(GBW002)
“One day was food and diet, and the second day was motivational and behavioural…”(GBW004)
“I can call [the coordinator] anytime if I’ve got any question or queries, like... the paperwork got changed over and I wasn’t sure whether I had all the correct, up-to-date paperwork. But also, they order all of our leaflets and booklets and information through the British Heart Foundation.”(GBW011)
“I’ve got everything: booklets, leaflets, you know they’re [the weight management team] quite supportive. They send a lot of things out and help with snack ideas and, yes, so generally they are quite there to ask questions.”(GBW005)
“Okay, so the main coordinator […] she’s fantastic, she’s always there to help. If you’ve got any questions, any problems at all, she would always take you to the right team. Also, the pharmacist […] he’s great, you can always talk to him and he can put you straight with others other than him if you’ve got any problems.”(GBW012)
“We have refresher courses that they provide, so we go along to them maybe once or twice a year. So we are always up-to-date. I am going on training.”(GBW002)
“I think it would be really helpful if there was something like that [refresher training] on a regular basis, you could keep yourself up to date.”(GBW015)
“There was a refresher in January I couldn’t go to, so the management are not very happy about it […] if anything is changed, obviously I’ll miss the refresher so there are refreshers over a couple of years.”(GBW001)
“I personally think training is lacking in this, really lacking, and I think there is not enough people doing enough of this, and I think there is still a big gap for people and pharmacists can help skill them.”(GBW015)
“I try to read. I try to read new guidelines, articles and listen.”(GBW003)
“Okay, so I think the way to do it is making sure that you’re keeping up-to-date with the magazines that people publish from time to time.”(GBW015)
“You can do your own CPD every year.”(GBW011)
3.2. Barriers
“Sometimes, people don’t want to talk about their weight. They want to talk about anything else. So families, partners, pets, anything so they don’t have to talk about their weight, so you have to try and distract them from that, but that can be a barrier. […]”(GBW002)
“There is lack of time, so it depends what’s a priority for you as a pharmacist? Reading prescriptions, is it providing services, or both?”(GBW015)
“I have to make time; it’s my job to do it. So, I have to make time. People that come in to see me, they book in once a week, and I just have to make time to do it.”(GBW012)
“The problem is, if we don’t get enough people on a regular basis, then the NHS might decide to stop the service, because obviously they get paid for doing it, the people that run it, they get paid for doing it. So, if we don’t keep doing what we’re doing, to try and encourage people to keep coming in to join the scheme, then there is a possibility that it could stop.”(GBW004)
“There […] is no funding right now so we just have to utilise the means we have and make most of the contact of the people we have with the patients because there is no funding anywhere, so we can’t say, Okay invest this money, invest in this because there is no money.”(GBW003)
“Yeah, I don’t think that it is advertised enough. I think that actually, it should be more advertised on tellies—you know television and radios— […] like, January after Christmas, when people start looking at the television and they see, like, getting fit for the summer and it’s only about once a year, they tend to do that, you know. So if they actually, the NHS, maybe did more advertising on the radio or, you know, televised, you’d probably get a lot more people, you can actually get that support from this scheme because it’s a free programme, they don’t have to go to live streaming, they don’t have to pay money even like a one-to-one service. It’s like a one-to-one service, you know, and it’s free, and people will actually come to love it, you know, a lot of them aren’t aware of that”(GBW005)
“[…] if there is more advertising, maybe, because most people come from the doctor. So maybe more advertising would be good, on TV or radio, something like that might be helpful.”(GBW009)
“I think 10 weeks is too long for some people... 5–6 weeks, I think, is enough time for them to go off on their own and carry on, because sort of by week 7–8 they start to go back, or they don’t show up.”(GBW002)
“Yes, after the fourth week [they may leave].”(GBW003)
3.3. Approach
“We don’t actually point them out, it’s something that people choose to do, so we’ve got posters up here. If people are concerned about their weight, they can ask about the […] service, which is a 12-week weight loss course. And unless it’s their decision, sorry, if it’s not their decision and they’re not ready to lose weight, then it’s not going to work.”(GBW004)
“You can’t force people to choose to lose weight; it has to be their decision.”(GBW008)
“Sometimes when a pharmacist will be doing like Medicines Use Review (MUR ) or something like that, you know it’s the best way to bring that up with an overweight patient, and you know since we do a weight management scheme here and that’s what he normally does. It’s quite difficult, because if they are overweight, you can’t just say, ‘Hey, you know, you need to lose weight.’ So, you have to be very careful […]”(GBW002)
“Sometimes, people may be looking at some of the slimming products, so you can approach them and say, ‘Are you looking to lose weight? Did you know that we do a course here?’ and that’s the point where I initiate a conversation.”(GBW002)
“When they give you a prescription, looking at the medication that they are taking and looking at, you know, if they are obese, then we sort of realise that there is a need to speak to this patient. […] What we do is, we say we do offer this service here, and that’s how we initiate. Obviously, you know, nobody will take it nicely if you say, ‘You know, I think you are a bit overweight.’ And we just say, ‘The medication you’re taking, you know if you want to lose weight, then we can help you do that, and we do run this clinic, you know, if you’d like to we can help you, and, you know, medication is so very good, but it all comes with a side effect, so you know, you have to think about it.’ ”(GBW003)
“I wouldn’t approach someone, if I’m honest. I wouldn’t approach someone and say, ‘You need to come on to [...]’ I guess I wouldn’t do that, if I’m honest. It is not something I feel comfortable with approaching people.”(GBW010)
“I think if you’re going about it, it’s a difficult one, I mean, you can’t just walk up and say to someone, ‘You’re a bit fat,’ you know, ‘Do you want to do this [weight management programme]?’”(GBW011)
“No, I don’t think I am confident in approaching people, because it is very difficult to say to somebody else who looks like [they] need to go on a weight manage programme”.(GBW012)
“I wanted to make sure that, whatever I learnt from my personal experience... I wanted to make sure that every person that comes in my path... I will change the path and improve what they do, and that’s my ethos and hope, that really works for me.”(GBW015)
“It’s something that I’ve done myself personally. I’ve lost a lot of weight through the same such as eating plan I offer here so it’s something I’m passionate about which gives me the motivation to help other people lose weight.(GBW004)
“We talk. We show them statistics. We show them the risks, you know, by not losing weight, and you know there’s lots of statistics you can show people. […] Lifestyle’s restricted if you are very obese at a very young age. You see their lifestyle restricted, they become housebound. You could end up in a wheelchair. If you are diabetic, you could end up in amputation. So, we don’t try to scare them, you know, [but] we do talk about the risks if they do not lose the weight.”(GBW003)
“[…] I think I know my patient very well, and I know they’ll listen to me. I think they know if I say something, I’m not thinking from a business point of view because I’m trying to sell them something. They do know it’s because I care about them, that’s why I’m telling them, so I think they care. So, I think the trust of the patient in me is my biggest strength.”(GBW003)
“I think my strength lies in communicating with other patients. I’ve built up a really good rapport with them and every person I see is completely different. I don’t generalise, I target each one individually. I talk about their needs, their wants, and it’s all about them, so they live here now and remember they might have taken in what you said, and it’s not just the blanket thing. And I think that really, really does help because every person is different.”(GBW012)
“I think by having privacy, [...] and that’s very helpful because then they are very honest, they don’t feel like anyone is listening. They know it’s all confidential, it’s a lot of help as well, and it’s nice for them each time they come, that they are weighed every time on our scales, so it’s actually a routine and that’s helpful because I know how long the consultation will take, and they will know what’s happening each week.”(GBW002)
“Because I can sympathise with them, because I’ve been there, I’ve done that, I’ve been overweight, I’ve lost weight. I know what it feels like.”(GBW004)
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Gender Distribution | ||
Sex | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) |
Males | 1 | 6.7 |
Females | 14 | 93.3 |
Age Distribution | ||
Age range | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) |
18–24 years | 2 | 13.3 |
25–34 years | 3 | 20 |
35–44 years | 2 | 13.3 |
45–54 years | 6 | 40 |
55–69 years | 2 | 13.3 |
Years of Experience in the Weight Management Program | ||
Year range | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) |
≤ 5 years | 9 | 60 |
6–10 years | 6 | 40 |
Type of Pharmacies | ||
Type | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) |
Chain | 12 | 80 |
Independent | 3 | 20 |
Employment status | ||
Type | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) |
Pharmacists | 3 | 20 |
Pharmacy Staff | 12 | 80 |
LPCs | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) |
Kingston and Richmond | 3 | 6.7 |
Hackney and City | 1 | 20 |
Kent | 11 | 73.3 |
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Peletidi, A.; Kayyali, R. Experiences of the Pharmacy-Led Weight Management Service: Views of Service Providers in England. Pharmacy 2019, 7, 82. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7030082
Peletidi A, Kayyali R. Experiences of the Pharmacy-Led Weight Management Service: Views of Service Providers in England. Pharmacy. 2019; 7(3):82. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7030082
Chicago/Turabian StylePeletidi, Aliki, and Reem Kayyali. 2019. "Experiences of the Pharmacy-Led Weight Management Service: Views of Service Providers in England" Pharmacy 7, no. 3: 82. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7030082