Independent community pharmacist interest in participating in community pharmacy research networks

Abstract

To assess the interest of American Pharmacy Services Corporation (APSC) independent community pharmacists in participating in a community pharmacy research network (CPRN) and to identify perceived barriers to participation in a CPRN. Descriptive, exploratory, nonexperimental study. University of Kentucky and APSC during 2009-10. 65 APSC independent community pharmacists in Kentucky. Single-mode survey. Independent community pharmacists' willingness to participate in community-based research and perceived barriers to participation. A total of 65 independent community pharmacists from 191 pharmacies returned the survey. The majority of independent community pharmacists were "interested" or "very interested" (83.8%) in participating in a CPRN. Respondents were willing to participate for a mean (±SD) of 6.5 ± 5.8 hours per week. However, they reported only being able participate in a CPRN for 5.2 ± 4.1 hours per week, with time being the greatest limitation to participation. An overwhelming percentage of respondents (92.1%) were interested in learning more about opportunities to participate in a CPRN in the future. CPRNs are an emerging interest in community pharmacy practice. A CPRN is an opportunity for independent community pharmacies to collaborate and use resources as a group to conduct research to solve issues in the community pharmacy setting.