Using community pharmacies to reduce barriers to contraceptive use

Pharmacists are accessible and pharmacies can be a source of contraceptives and contraceptive information. This study was designed to assess the impact of a pharmacy-based health education intervention on consumer attitudes and contraceptive sales. The prospective, time series design included 12 counties in Iowa with 54 participating pharmacies. The 30-month intervention included posters, shelf talkers and patient education brochures. Following pharmacy visits, female customers completed on-line surveys (n=1208) regarding contraceptive attitudes. Contraceptive sales data from participating pharmacies and a control group of 33 pharmacies in 11 Iowa counties were obtained for three years. Before-after comparisons were examined. Pre-post comparisons showed that after the intervention, significantly more respondents (72%) reported that talking to pharmacy staff about birth control was easy compared to before the intervention (57%). The likelihood of talking to pharmacy staff about prescription birth control appeared to increase among respondents from 52% to 62%. Thirty percent indicated they were likely to talk to pharmacy staff about nonprescription birth control methods, and this did not change significantly over time. Comparisons between intervention and control groups for oral contraceptive and condom sales showed no significant changes from before the intervention to year one. In conclusion, the intervention increased the likelihood individuals will talk with community pharmacists about prescription contraceptive products with no effect on first year contraceptive sales. Additional analyses of customer knowledge and attitudes and contraceptive sales will be presented and the feasibility and utility of pharmacy-based interventions will be discussed.