Objective: To assess opinions of pharmacist-members of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management (APhA-APPM) regarding the appropriate level of pharmacists' involvement in emergency preparedness and response activities and to determine whether opinions differed according to demographic characteristics.
Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive, Web-based survey.
Setting: United States.
Participants: Five hundred eighteen APhA-APPM member-pharmacists.
Main outcome measures: Responses to survey questions.
Results: Respondents to our survey indicated that pharmacists should have a high level of involvement in emergency preparedness and response activities. Traditional pharmacy practice activities (such as medication preparation and dispensing) and patient education were the most highly supported roles for pharmacists. Newer activities such as surveillance, vaccine administration, and mobilization were also strongly supported. Demographic characteristics, such as age, sex, degree, state of residence, practice setting, and employment setting, did not influence respondents' opinions. The only characteristic that influenced pharmacist opinions was previous participation in local and/or state emergency preparedness and response activities. Compared with other respondents, pharmacists who participated in these activities gave higher ratings to these possible roles for pharmacists: surveillance, triage/evaluation, community planning and preparation, mobilization, and training of others.
Conclusion: Pharmacist-members of APhA-APPM who responded to this survey believe that participating in public health activities related to emergency preparedness and response is important for members of the pharmacy profession.