Background

In recent years, the role of community pharmacy technicians has expanded to include involvement in the provision of brief tobacco cessation interventions. While technicians appear to be a key component in this service, their level of engagement and associated perceptions of this new role have not been described.

Objective

To compare pharmacy technicians’ frequency of involvement in brief tobacco cessation interventions delivered in a community pharmacy setting, as a function of training approach, and to characterize their perceptions of this expanded role, including barriers to implementation.

Methods

Twenty California-based grocery store chain pharmacies were randomized to receive (a) written training materials-only [minimal] or (b) written training materials plus live training with coaching and active monitoring by pharmacy management [intensive]. After written materials were distributed to the sites, tobacco cessation interventions were documented prospectively for 12 weeks post-training.

Results

Over the 12-week study, technicians (n = 50) documented their involvement in 524 interventions (57.7% of 908 total), with the minimal group accounting for 56.1% and the intensive group accounting for 43.9% (p < 0.001). The number of individual technicians who reported at least one intervention was 16 (of 26; 61.5%) in the minimal group and 24 (of 24; 100%) in the intensive group (p < 0.001). At the conclusion of the study, 100% of technicians in the intensive group self-rated their ability to interact with patients about quitting smoking as good, very good, or excellent compared to 73.9% in the minimal group (p = 0.10).

Conclusion

In both study arms, technicians documented high numbers of tobacco cessation interventions. The higher proportion of technicians providing one or more interventions in the intensive group suggests a greater overall engagement in the process, relative to those receiving minimal training. Technicians can play a key role in the delivery of tobacco cessation interventions in community pharmacies.

中文翻译：

---

社区药房技术人员参与提供简短戒烟干预措施：随机试验的结果

背景

近年来，社区药房技术人员的作用已扩大到包括参与提供简短的戒烟干预措施。虽然技术人员似乎是这项服务的关键组成部分，但他们的参与程度以及对这一新角色的相关看法尚未得到描述。

客观的

比较药房技术人员参与社区药房环境中简短戒烟干预措施的频率（作为培训方法的函数），并描述他们对这种扩大作用的看法，包括实施障碍。

方法

20 家位于加利福尼亚州的杂货店连锁药店被随机分配接受 (a) 仅书面培训材料[最少]或 (b) 书面培训材料加上由药房管理人员指导和主动监控的现场培训[强化]。将书面材料分发到各个地点后，对培训后 12 周的戒烟干预措施进行前瞻性记录。

结果

在为期 12 周的研究中，技术人员 (n = 50) 记录了他们参与了 524 项干预措施（占 908 项干预措施总数的 57.7%），其中最小组占 56.1%，强化组占 43.9%（p < 0.001）。报告至少一项干预措施的技术人员人数在最低限度组中为 16 人（共 26 人；61.5%），在强化组中为 24 人（共 24 人；100%）（p < 0.001）。研究结束时，强化组中 100% 的技术人员将自己与患者就戒烟问题进行互动的能力自我评价为良好、非常好或优秀，而极简组中的这一比例为 73.9% (p = 0.10)。

结论

在两个研究组中，技术人员记录了大量戒烟干预措施。相对于那些接受最少培训的技术人员，在强化组中提供一项或多项干预措施的技术人员比例较高，表明他们对这一过程的整体参与度更高。技术人员可以在社区药房提供戒烟干预措施中发挥关键作用。