Mental health support in community pharmacy: inclusion of the lived experience voice in supporting service provision

Community pharmacists, as primary healthcare practitioners, play a crucial role in supporting mental health consumers. They often serve as the first point of contact and see mental health consumers more frequently than other healthcare professionals. While their contributions to mental healthcare are increasingly recognized, insight is emerging about the factors that support pharmacists in providing mental healthcare. The aim of this study was to assess the applicability of a framework for pharmacists, pharmacy staff and consumers' empowerment in mental health.

This study used interview data from pharmacists and mental health consumers who had participated in the Australian PharMIbridge RCT. PharMIbridge pharmacists delivered a person-centred, goal-oriented medication support service to mental health consumers. The qualitative data investigating the experiences of pharmacists (n = 16) and consumers (n = 26) were categorized in relation to the existing framework and inconsistencies or differences discussed to identify new factors.

Study results supported many aspects of the published framework, with two new factors (prevalence of mental distress and looking beyond the mental illness) suggested for inclusion. Additionally, eight factors were expanded with further nuanced details and experiences from the data and are presented with supporting quotations.

This study adds further understanding of the factors that moderate the empowerment of pharmacists and consumers in mental healthcare within community pharmacy settings. The inclusion of consumer perspectives has enriched the framework, which can be further utilized by policymakers and community pharmacists to support targeted primary healthcare responses with mental health consumers.