Conscientious objection – A vignette-based, pilot study of international pharmacists’ perspectives

Abstract

Background: Conscientious objection (CO) in healthcare has always been a controversial topic. Some healthcare professionals perceive CO as a freedom of conscience, others believe their duty-of-care overrides personal perspectives. There is a paucity of literature pertaining to pharmacists’ perspectives on CO. This study aimed to inform the development of a proposed questionnaire exploring pharmacists’ decision-making in complex scenarios around CO and reasons for their choices. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, mixed methods pilot study of international pharmacists, using an online, vignette-based questionnaire on scenarios related to medical termination, emergency contraception, IVF surrogacy for a same-sex couple and voluntary assisted dying (VAD). Results: Sixty-two FIP 2019 conference delegate pharmacists participated in this pilot study. Approximately half them believed pharmacists have the right to CO. Most pharmacists agreed to supply the prescriptions across all four vignettes. Regarding continuity of care, majority of pharmacists agreed (97%) it was necessary for equity of access. Strong self-reported religiosity had a statistically significant relationship with pharmacists’ decisions not to supply for medical termination, IVF surrogacy and VAD. Conclusion: This pilot study revealed insights into the various perspectives of international pharmacists on CO in healthcare and informed the development of a survey for future administration.