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PACE: Pharmacists use the power of communication in paediatric asthma
Amanda Elaro1, Smita Shah, Luca N Pomare
1The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, Glebe, NSW, 2051, Australia, aela5708@uni.sydney.edu.au.
Insights
The Practitioner Asthma Communication and Education (PACE) program was successfully adapted for community pharmacists, improving their paediatric asthma communication and education skills. This initiative demonstrates pharmacists
Area of Science:
- Pharmacy Practice
- Respiratory Medicine
- Health Professional Education
Background:
- Paediatric asthma presents a significant public health challenge in Australia, underscoring the need for effective interventions.
- Existing national asthma guidelines are underutilized, and community pharmacy-based programs for paediatric asthma are limited.
- The Practitioner Asthma Communication and Education (PACE) program, originally for physicians, has proven effective in improving paediatric asthma management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To adapt the evidence-based PACE program for application in community pharmacy settings.
- To assess the feasibility and acceptability of the adapted PACE program for pharmacists.
- To explore the program's impact on pharmacists' communication skills and asthma management practices.
Main Methods:
- The PACE framework was modified to create 'PACE for Pharmacy', tailored for community pharmacists.
- Forty-four pharmacists participated in interactive training workshops.
- Pharmacist satisfaction, confidence in communication strategies, and self-reported behavioural changes were evaluated pre- and post-workshop.
Main Results:
- A 100% retention rate was achieved, with high pharmacist satisfaction reported.
- Pharmacists showed significantly increased confidence and use of communication strategies post-training.
- Reported improvements included more frequent checks of asthma self-management plans, inhaler technique, and provision of verbal instructions for new medications.
Conclusions:
- The PACE program is transferable to the community pharmacy setting, demonstrating positive effects on pharmacist communication and education.
- PACE for Pharmacy effectively enhanced pharmacists' self-reported communication and teaching behaviours in paediatric asthma consultations.
- The high engagement indicates pharmacists' readiness to expand their clinical roles in primary healthcare.
Background:
Paediatric asthma is a public health burden in Australia despite the availability of national asthma guidelines. Community pharmacy interventions focusing on paediatric asthma are scarce. Practitioner Asthma Communication and Education (PACE) is an evidence-based program, developed in the USA for general practice physicians, aimed at addressing the issues of poor clinician-patient communication in the management of paediatric asthma. This program has been shown to improve paediatric asthma management practices of general practitioners in the USA and Australia. The development of a PACE program for community pharmacists will fill a void in the current armamentarium for pharmacist-patient care.
Objectives:
To adapt the educational program, PACE, to the community pharmacy setting. To test the feasibility of the new program for pharmacy and to explore its potential impact on pharmacists' communication skills and asthma related practices.
Setting:
Community pharmacies located within the Sydney metropolitan.
Method:
The PACE framework was reviewed by the research team and amended in order to ensure its relevance within the pharmacy context, thereby developing PACE for Pharmacy. Forty-four pharmacists were recruited and trained in small groups in the PACE for Pharmacy workshops. Pharmacists' satisfaction and acceptability of the workshops, confidence in using communication strategies pre- and post-workshop and self-reported behaviour change post workshop were evaluated.
Main Outcome Measure:
Pharmacist self-reported changes in communication and teaching behaviours during a paediatric asthma consultation.
Results:
All 44 pharmacists attended both workshops, completed pre- and post-workshop questionnaires and provided feedback on the workshops (100 % retention). The participants reported a high level of satisfaction and valued the interactive nature of the workshops. Following the PACE for Pharmacy program, pharmacists reported significantly higher levels in using the communication strategies, confidence in their application and their helpfulness. Pharmacists checked for written asthma self-management plan possession and inhaler device technique more regularly, and provided verbal instructions more frequently to paediatric asthma patients/carers at the initiation of a new medication.
Conclusion:
This study provides preliminary evidence that the PACE program can be translated into community pharmacy. PACE for Pharmacy positively affected self-reported communication and education behaviours of pharmacists. The high response rate shows that pharmacists are eager to expand on their clinical role in primary healthcare.
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