Barriers and Facilitators Related to Delivery of Hospital Pharmacy Services to Women, Children, and Their Families during a Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Background

When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, health care professionals were challenged to adapt quickly and efficiently to change their work practices. However, an evidence-informed approach has not yet been used to systematically gather data on barriers and facilitators related to delivery of hospital pharmacy services in Canada.

Objectives

The primary objective was to identify and describe barriers and facilitators related to the delivery of hospital pharmacy services to women, children, and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary objective was to provide recommendations for improvement in delivery of pharmacy services to enhance patient care during pandemics.

Methods

This qualitative study involved semistructured virtual interviews with pharmacists who worked in direct or nondirect patient care throughout the pandemic (since March 2020) at women's and/or children's hospitals in Canada. Individual interviews were completed virtually using conferencing software. An interview guide mapped to the Theoretical Domains Framework version 2 (TDFV2) was used to facilitate the interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim by the principal investigator. Transcribed interviews were coded, mapped to the TDFV2, and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

Interviews were completed with 21 pharmacists in 7 provinces across Canada. Barriers and facilitators coded to the TDFV2 were grouped into 4 main themes: communication and collaboration, adaptability, health and well-being, and preparedness.

Conclusions

Participants highlighted a significant number of barriers that they experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic; overall, however, participants reported that they felt prepared for subsequent waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.

Contexte

Lors de la déclaration de la pandémie de COVID-19 en mars 2020, les professionnels de la santé ont été mis au défi de s’adapter rapidement et efficacement à la situation en changeant leurs pratiques professionnelles. Cependant, une approche fondée sur des données probantes pour recueillir systématiquement des données sur les obstacles à la prestation des services de pharmacie hospitalière au Canada et les éléments facilitant celle-ci n’a pas encore été utilisée de manière systématique.

Objectifs

L’objectif principal consistait à identifier et à décrire les obstacles à la prestation de services de pharmacie hospitalière aux femmes, aux enfants et à leur famille et les éléments facilitant celle-ci pendant la pandémie de COVID-19. L’objectif secondaire consistait, quant à lui, à fournir des recommandations pour améliorer la prestation de services de pharmacie afin d’améliorer les soins aux patients pendant une pandémie.

Méthodes

Cette étude qualitative comprenait des entrevues virtuelles semi-structurées avec des pharmaciens ayant travaillé dans le domaine des soins directs ou non directs aux patients tout au long de la pandémie (depuis mars 2020) dans des hôpitaux pour femmes et/ou enfants au Canada. Les entretiens individuels ont été réalisés virtuellement à l’aide d’un logiciel de conférence. Un guide d’entretien adapté de la 2

Résultats

Des entrevues ont été réalisées auprès de 21 pharmaciens dans 7 provinces du Canada. Les obstacles et les éléments facilitateurs codés selon le TDFV2 ont été regroupés en 4 grands thèmes: communication et collaboration; adaptabilité; santé et bien-être; et état de préparation.

Conclusions

Les participants ont mentionné un nombre important d’obstacles qu’ils ont rencontrés pendant la pandémie de COVID-19; dans l’ensemble, cependant, les participants ont déclaré qu’ils se sentaient préparés aux vagues ultérieures de la pandémie de COVID-19 et aux futures pandémies.

Informations de copyright

2022 Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists. All content in the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy is copyrighted by the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacy. In submitting their manuscripts, the authors transfer, assign, and otherwise convey all copyright ownership to CSHP.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Competing interests: For activities not directly related to this article, Melanie MacInnis served as president of the Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists (2019, 2020) and has been the Zone 5 representative of this organization since 2014. For studies and activities not directly related to this article, Emily Black has received grant funding from the Dalhousie Pharmacy Endowment Fund, Research Nova Scotia, and the Drug Evaluation Alliance of Nova Scotia; consulting fees from Pear Health Solutions and the Ontario College of Pharmacists; honoraria for presentations from Dalhousie Continuing Pharmacy Division; and travel reimbursement from the Canadian Pharmacists Association to attend an advisory meeting. No other competing interests were declared.