Health promotion in community pharmacy: the UK situation

Abstract

Community pharmacies in the UK are an excellent setting for health promotion in the community; they see over 90% of the population per year. Pharmacy education and training is changing and health promotion is now part of the undergraduate curriculum. There is an increasing body of research about the effects of pharmacy health promotion and a number of examples of good practice. The UK research is reviewed and examples of good practice highlighted. The paper concludes with a discussion about the contribution of pharmacists can make and about some of the issues that will need to be overcome first. Pharmacists see healthy as well as sick people. They have a special relationship with many of their regular customers which enables them to promote health, they can also give population messages to passing trade. A number of issues such as training and remuneration must be addressed before health promotion becomes fully integrated into the pharmacist's role.