Pain management in community pharmacy: a survey of pharmacy customers
Authors: Wong T W , Boyd M J , Boardman H F , Knaggs R D , Wilson L E 
Published: November 2022

Abstract

Introduction
Pain is one the few sensory and emotional experiences experienced by almost all humans. When pain is uncontrolled, prolonged or disabling, people are likely to seek help from healthcare professionals1. Community pharmacies are located in the centre of communities, providing easy access to highly trained healthcare professionals, and medicines, without an appointment. Consequently, many customer interactions within pharmacies may relate to pain, however current information on the utilisation of community pharmacies for pain management and the nature of interactions is limited.

Aim
To gain a greater understanding of how pharmacy customers use community pharmacies to manage pain.

Methods
A questionnaire survey was administered to customers in 14 community pharmacies situated within the East Midlands between 7th and 26th March 2022. Pharmacy customers were approached and invited to take part if they were aged 18 years or above and had capacity. Participants were asked information about their use of community pharmacy in general, and their use of community pharmacy in relation to pain and pain medicines. Responses were recorded electronically using the Qualtrics survey platform. Descriptive statistics were derived using Microsoft Excel. Ethical approval for the study was given by the School of Pharmacy Research Ethics Committee at the University of Nottingham (ref 2017-017er).

Results
Of the pharmacy customers approached, 2798 consented to taking part in the survey (response rate = 36.2%). Approximately two-thirds of participants were female (68.7%, n=1901), and around half were aged 50 years or older (51.8%, n=1434). The most common reason for visiting the pharmacy was to collect a prescription (42.5%, n=1159), followed by purchasing a non-medicinal product (34.4%, n=937). The third most common reason for visiting the pharmacy was to purchase a medicine (19.8%, n=540). The majority of customers reported purchasing a medicine for pain from the pharmacy counter in the past (84.8%, n=2277), approximately half had used a community pharmacy to get advice about a medicine for pain (55.4%, n=1468), and slightly fewer had used a community pharmacy for advice about a painful condition (41.9%, n=1076). Of those who had sought advice for a painful condition, most customers reported this being for a new painful condition (70.5%, n=759), with a third seeking advice for pain from a long-term problem (32.5%, n=350). Fewer customers had sought advice for long-term pain which had recently become worse (17.8%, n=191).

Discussion/Conclusion
A significant proportion of pharmacy customers participating in this survey reported purchasing a pain medicine from the pharmacy counter and/or seeking advice about a pain medicine or a painful condition. These results suggest community pharmacies play an important role in the management of pain and supporting the wider NHS. Whilst survey participation was substantial, the results may not reflect the use of community pharmacy throughout the UK. Further analysis of this survey and future work will help to inform how community pharmacies can develop their role in pain management to improve care and support other parts of the health service.

References
1. Thorstensson, C.A., Gooberman-Hill, R., Adamson, J. et al. Help-seeking behaviour among people living with chronic hip or knee pain in the community. BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 2009;10(1):153.