Pharmacists' perspectives on collaborating with community health workers in diabetes care

Abstract

Objectives: To qualitatively assess pharmacists' perspectives on the barriers and facilitators of collaborating with community health workers (CHWs) when caring for patients with diabetes.

Methods: Eight pharmacists were invited to participate in a focus group. All pharmacists had worked with CHWs for 12 months as part of a larger study. Seven pharmacists participated in a single focus group while one pharmacist participated in an individual interview. Data were analyzed by two investigators to identify common themes.

Results: Perceived barriers included issues associated with maintaining patient confidentiality, pharmacists' level of comfort with CHWs, uncertainty about CHW roles, and inconsistent communication between pharmacists and CHWs. However, pharmacists reported that the care model fostered improvement in patient-pharmacist communication, patient adherence to medication, and assessment of patients' overall condition.

Conclusion: Pharmacists expressed positive attitudes and experiences in working with CHWs caring for a minority patient population with poorly controlled diabetes. Most believed that CHWs acted as facilitators and aided them in producing positive clinical outcomes by addressing the multiple psychosocial and contextual dimensions of patient health. Developing approaches for more frequent and effective communication between pharmacists and CHWs was the primary perceived challenge.