EDUCATION and remuneration are two barriers currently limiting pharmacists' ability to help combat the impacts of air pollution on respiratory health, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) believes.
In its Mitigating the impact of air pollution on health: The role of community pharmacists report, FIP found many pharmacists "do not have an optimal understanding of the protective role of the nose against external aggressors and pollutants", while 50% of respondents to the organisation's global survey "were not entirely aware of the link between air pollution and immune response to viral infections".
"Pharmacists' position in the community makes them instrumental in raising the public's awareness of this significant threat to their health and to support them in mitigating the risks posed by air pollution on respiratory health," FIP said.
"This is not a new threat, but it is one that has become increasingly harmful at an accelerated pace, and one that exhorts the pharmacy profession to expand its scope of practice to embrace new roles and responsibilities.
"With increased access to evidence-based guidelines and increased availability of practice-support tools and devices, strengthened educational and regulatory frameworks, and improved funding models to ensure the sustainability of these services, the pharmaceutical profession stands to contribute meaningfully to tackling air pollution and minimising its effects on the health of patients."
FIP added that improved interprofessional collaboration supported by shared electronic patient records could improve respiratory outcomes.
The organisation said it would continue to advocate for an expanded role for pharmacists to mitigate against the impact of air pollution on respiratory health.
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