Abstract
Since August 2015, a large range of sexual health and reproductive health services have been provided in more than 120 pharmacies across Birmingham (England). Our study aimed to explore how pharmacy staff and pharmacy users experience delivering or being provided with sexual health and reproductive health services. Between March and September 2019, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 pharmacy staff delivering sexual and reproductive health services and 15 people who had used a sexual and reproductive health service at the pharmacy. Interviews were analysed thematically. Pharmacy users found services convenient to use and were largely satisfied with pharmacy staff consultation skills. Staff were motivated to deliver the services, although some felt that they did not receive sufficient recognition for their work. Barriers to pharmacy-based sexual and reproductive health services were identified, including lack of privacy for users, lack of staff and user awareness of the services, lack of trained staff to deliver services and lack of capacity for copper coil insertions in females presenting for emergency contraception. The identification of barriers to effective service provision can be used to improve the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services in pharmacies and lead to a greater uptake.
Highlights
It is estimated that one million new urogenital sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are contracted each day, affecting the health and lives of people worldwide [1,2]
Following the Health and Social Care Act in 2013, local authorities in England have been responsible for the planning, purchasing and monitoring of most sexual and reproductive health services, including contraception, and prevention and testing for HIV and other STIs [7,8]
15 pharmacy staff and 15 pharmacy users were interviewed in total
Summary
It is estimated that one million new urogenital sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are contracted each day, affecting the health and lives of people worldwide [1,2]. Sexual and reproductive health are major public health concerns in England, where STI diagnoses in 2018 rose by 5%. Compared to the previous year, and the percentage of conceptions leading to abortion amongst females in England and Wales increased from 22.7% to 24% in the same time period [4,5,6]. Following the Health and Social Care Act in 2013, local authorities in England have been responsible for the planning, purchasing and monitoring of most sexual and reproductive health services, including contraception, and prevention and testing for HIV and other STIs [7,8]. With more than 11,500 pharmacies across England, local authorities have increasingly recognised their potential to increase access to sexual and reproductive health services [10]
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