NEW research conducted by Monash University has revealed that community pharmacists are well-placed and keen to provide adolescents with contraception information and services, but felt they needed additional training in this area.
Adolescents, in turn, believed that community pharmacies were an accessible and convenient source of these services, despite experience or fear of embarrassment and judgement.
The study team concluded that community pharmacies can be a vital entry point into the health system for adolescents - if they are made to be truly teen-friendly.
"Community pharmacies offer a promising, accessible alternative, but only if pharmacists are equipped and supported to meet adolescents' needs," lead author, Dr Anisa Assifi, said.
The researchers reviewed 34 studies from a number of different countries, with the aim of examining adolescents' experience and acceptance of contraception dispensing services in community pharmacy.
It was also found that adolescents and community pharmacists are interested in the enhanced access to sexual and reproductive health services that community pharmacy offers, although barriers remain.
Teenagers face unique and at times greater challenges when accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services than adults, including stigma, limited knowledge, out-of-pocket costs, and restrictive legislative frameworks.
"Many adolescents also lack SRH knowledge and have poorer health literacy than adults, delaying their access to services," Dr Assifi explained.
"They may then encounter providers who hold stigmatised views and/or lack understanding of adolescent SRH needs at the point of care," she said.
The study emphasises the importance of making it easier and equitable for adolescents to access 'friendly' health services, Dr Assifi added.
Pharmacists were seen as knowledgeable, but their comfort and willingness to provide adolescent-specific care varied.
Dr Assifi noted that the study's focus on community pharmacy should be viewed as a complementary option for SRH information and care provision, not competition with other providers.
The study called for standardised service delivery to reduce variability and misinformation, to expand pharmacists' scope of practice with appropriate support and regulation, and for further research into how pharmacies can be better supported to deliver adolescent-centred care.
Read the paper HERE. KB
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