Independent community pharmacist interest in participating in community pharmacy research networks

• Published in: Journal of the American Pharmacists Association Vol. 51; no. 6; pp. 727 - 738
• Main Authors: Carr, Molly B., PharmD, MBA, Divine, Holly, PharmD, CGP, CDE, Hanna, Cathy, PharmD, Freeman, Patricia R., PhD, Blumenschein, Karen, PharmD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-11-2011
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; community pharmacy; community pharmacy research networks; Community Pharmacy Services - organization & administration; Community-Based Participatory Research - organization & administration; Cooperative Behavior; Data Collection; Female; Health Services Research - organization & administration; Humans; Internal Medicine; Kentucky; Male; Middle Aged; Pharmacists - organization & administration; Practice-based research networks; Kentucky; Practice-based research networks; community pharmacy; community pharmacy research networks
• ISSN: 1544-3191; 1544-3450
• DOI: 10.1331/JAPhA.2011.10099

Objectives 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. Design Descriptive, exploratory, nonexperimental study. Setting University of Kentucky and APSC during 2009–10. Participants 65 APSC independent community pharmacists in Kentucky. Intervention Single-mode survey. Main outcome measure Independent community pharmacists' willingness to participate in community-based research and perceived barriers to participation. Results 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. Conclusion 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.