Successful implementation of a medication safety program for Aboriginal Health Practitioners in rural Australia

This study describes the development and implementation of a medication safety program for Aboriginal Health Practitioners practising in rural Australia.

A two-stage process was used to develop and implement the medication safety program. Initially, a total of eight semi-structured interviews was undertaken with Aboriginal Health Practitioners to identify the main challenges faced while implementing medication safety in the organisation. This was followed by the development of a culturally appropriate medication safety program.

Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service.

Aboriginal Health Practitioners.

The participants' knowledge, confidence, behaviour, and utilisation of medication safety developed resources.

The development and implementation of the medication safety program in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service consisted of addressing the barriers to medication safety cited by the Aboriginal Health Practitioner from the interviews, providing face-to-face educational sessions and developing a culturally appropriate educational resource to address the identified gaps. The program developed was evaluated by 17 Aboriginal Health Practitioners who took part in the study. The evaluation of Aboriginal Health Practitioners' knowledge, confidence, behaviour, utilisation of the medication safety program and resources was undertaken using an anonymous survey. A total of 31 participants completed the survey: 17 before the training and 14 at 6 months post-training. The data analysis, using t test, revealed a statistically significant change in the Aboriginal Health Practitioners' knowledge, confidence, behaviour and utilisation.

The success of the implementation of a collaborative medication safety program within the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service is dependent on understanding the barriers to medication safety in the workplace associated within the organisation and emphasising a wide culture of patient safety.