Pharmacy Continence Care - Bladder and Bowel Website

Program was based on assessment of health and economic outcomes and of the
effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the overall intervention.
Implementation of the pilot Program involved developing a training package (available from
www.novapolicy.com/pccp) and schedule; implementing the first stage of the outcomes and
effectiveness evaluation through telephone administered interview of all participating
pharmacies; delivery of the training; distribution of a counter-based kit of consumer
recruitment and resource materials to all participating pharmacies; follow-up contact with all
participating pharmacies to monitor progress and encourage recruitment of customers to the
consumer survey; receipt of 45 customer surveys; exit interview of 32 of the 46 pharmacies
who completed the Program; and follow-up computer-assisted telephone interview with 30
of the 45 participating customers.
The outcomes and effectiveness evaluation of the pilot Program has demonstrated pharmacy
benefit:
• the Pharmacy Survey data indicate unequivocal support for the Program
• there has been a significant increase in the confidence and perceived knowledge and
understanding of continence issues by pharmacy staff
• there is evidence of changes in pharmacy behaviour after only a brief intervention.
This indicates that the Program has significant potential to become an accepted new
cognitive service within pharmacy practice. This pilot has demonstrated the efficacy of the
training approach and materials for pharmacy staff, in that a significant majority reported
increased confidence and knowledge of incontinence health issues and of the pharmacy
perception of both consumer and business benefit.
In respect of consumer benefit, the evaluation strategy did not achieve an adequate rate of
consumer participation and it is not possible to assess the PCCP’s effect on the personal
impact of incontinence and on health outcomes. On the basis of this project’s experience,
the project team recommend that consumer benefit should be assessed through an
extended study accessing on a routine and regular basis consumer feedback from customers
of participating pharmacies. However, the pilot, despite the very small sample of customers,
has indicated that:
• hygiene is the most common area of concern for customers, followed by skin care
• disposable pads (either sanitary or incontinence) are the most commonly utilised product
• expenditure of continence care products (such as non-drug related products, skin care
products and women’s sanitary products) is most commonly under $10 per week or
between $10-$25 per week
• brochures/pamphlets provided by pharmacies are the most recalled information source
• people with incontinence, and those caring for people with incontinence, are generally
not embarrassed to speak with pharmacy staff about incontinence
• for the majority, pharmacies are a comfortable place to discuss personal needs.
Six existing standards within the core standards for the Quality Care Pharmacy Practice
program are particularly relevant and appropriate to the PCCP and would enable participants
completing the training and implementation of the PCCP, as a component within the QCPP
program, to meet the requirements for provision of CQI points.
The Pharmacy Continence Care Program pilot has provided sufficient evidence to indicate
that implementation of the Program in the longer term would be sustainable through
demonstrated benefit to pharmacy practice in primary health care and to pharmacy business.
Final Report x NOVA Public Policy
Pharmacy Continence Care Project