Engaging community pharmacies in practice-based research: Lessons from opioid-focused research

Area of Science:

• Implementation Science
• Community Pharmacy Practice
• Practice-Based Research

Background:

• Translating evidence-based practices into real-world settings is a recognized challenge.
• Community pharmacies are strategically positioned for practice-based research collaborations.
• Existing research partnerships face challenges influenced by study type, pharmacy characteristics, and stakeholder engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and describe challenges encountered when partnering with community pharmacies for research.
• To provide actionable recommendations for mitigating and overcoming these partnership challenges.
• To leverage authors' experience in opioid-related research collaborations with community pharmacies.

Main Methods:

• This commentary synthesizes authors' practical experiences.
• Analysis of challenges in diverse community pharmacy research settings.
• Development of recommendations based on identified partnership barriers.

Main Results:

• Challenges vary significantly based on study specifics and pharmacy context.
• Key areas for improvement include team structure and communication strategies.
• Effective research integration requires attention to tools, motivation, workflow, and sustainability.

Conclusions:

• Addressing identified challenges can enhance community pharmacy research partnerships.
• Implementing the proposed recommendations can facilitate successful practice-based research.
• Strengthened collaborations are essential for advancing evidence-based practice in community pharmacy.