Assessment of Arizona pharmacy students’ perceptions of pharmacist behavior regarding provision of emergency contraception during work and/or pharmacy practice experiences

Abstract

ObjectiveTo characterize Arizona pharmacy students’ experiences with pharmacists’ refusals or provisions of emergency contraception (EC) and determine the influence on students’ attitudes towards EC. MethodsIn January 2013, a cross-sectional survey was administered to pharmacy students to assess experiences with pharmacists providing EC. Students were surveyed on personal beliefs towards EC and future willingness to provide EC. Information was collected using Qualtrics® and analyzed with SPSS® software. ResultsA total of 164 students responded to the survey (50% response rate). About 13% witnessed EC refusals to men and 12% witnessed refusals to women. Approximately one-third of students (32%) stated experiences with pharmacists affected their attitudes on EC. Respondents who identified themselves as Christian, Latter Day Saints (LDS), or Catholic were more likely to agree that EC increased the risk of sexually transmitted infections (p ≤ 0.001, p = 0.0013, p = 0.003, respectively). Witnessing a pharmacist refuse EC to a woman of age predicted that experiences with pharmacists influenced students’ perceptions of EC (p = 0.013). ConclusionInteractions with practicing pharmacists may influence students’ attitudes toward EC. Religion and gender may also affect students’ attitudes and beliefs regardless of experiences with pharmacists. A greater emphasis on education and training related to best practices and ethical decision making for both pharmacists and students may be necessary to ensure that students are learning appropriate methods to handle situations where personal beliefs may be a factor in providing medications, to ensure patient access to optimal health care, and to maintain the professional representation of the pharmacy profession.