Older Patients' Perspectives on Barriers and Facilitators to Counselling in Community Pharmacy: A Focus Group Study

Background: The ageing of world population is simultaneously a great triumph and a great challenge. It is essential to adjust healthcare systems to older populations and community pharmacies are not an exception. Objectives: The goal was to identify barriers and facilitators, perceived by older patients, that may influence counselling in community pharmacy and, consequently, therapeutic adherence. Methods: A qualitative study was performed. Six focus groups were conducted with 51 participants. The target population was people aged at least 65 years who are autonomous and frequently go to community pharmacies. Results: Three main themes emerged: barriers centered in physical space, centered in older adults and centered in pharmacy professionals. Eight categories emerged from the data analysis. Aisles and access, general impairments and time management were most mentioned categories of each theme, respectively. Furthermore, several facilitators were identified, which were organized according to the same three themes, with an additional one, facilitators centered in society. There were nine categories identified. Human skills, ambiance, appointment and medication management were the most cited ones of each theme, respectively. Conclusions: It is urgent to implement real measures to update community pharmacies settings. A checklist with the main facilitators and the barriers that should be avoided would help public authorities and community pharmacies directors to adapt and to change community pharmacies' environments.