Patient perceptions of a tuberculosis testing program provided in the community pharmacy setting

B Jakeman; S J Logothetis; M Saba; D Anderson; J M Acosta; M E Borrego; M H Roberts; A Bachyrycz; D Fortune; M Burgos

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2019.12.010

Patient perceptions of a tuberculosis testing program provided in the community pharmacy setting

Public Health. 2020 Apr:181:135-140. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2019.12.010. Epub 2020 Feb 28.

Authors

B Jakeman¹, S J Logothetis², M Saba², D Anderson², J M Acosta², M E Borrego², M H Roberts², A Bachyrycz², D Fortune³, M Burgos⁴

Affiliations

¹ University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Practice & Administrative Sciences, Albuquerque, NM, USA. Electronic address: bjakeman@salud.unm.edu.
² University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Practice & Administrative Sciences, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
³ New Mexico Department of Health, Tuberculosis Program, Santa Fe, NM, USA.
⁴ New Mexico Department of Health, Tuberculosis Program, Santa Fe, NM, USA; University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Albuquerque, NM, USA; New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Albuquerque, NM, USA.

PMID: 32014641
DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2019.12.010

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to describe patient experiences and perceptions of a public health initiative designed to improve tuberculosis (TB) testing access using the tuberculin skin test (TST) in a community pharmacy setting.

Study design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Methods: A telephonic survey of patients who had received a TST at one of twelve participating community pharmacies between August 2014 and July 2016 was conducted. The 26-question survey was developed by two pharmacists with expertise in TB management and one pharmacy student. Before administration the survey was peer-reviewed for clarity. Potential study patients were identified through TST records at the study pharmacies. English-speaking patients older than 18 years were eligible for study inclusion. Statistical differences in responses based on location were identified using chi-squared test for frequency comparisons with a P-value of <0.05 to determine statistical significance.

Results: A total of 1709 patients received a TST during the study period, of whom 431 were contacted and 325 participated, meeting the predetermined representative sample needed of 314 patients. The majority of study patients were female (67.1%) and white (81%). The mean age was 36 years (standard deviation = 14.1). A majority (68.3%) lived <5 miles from the TST pharmacy, while 45.2% of those with a primary care provider (PCP) (61.6% of respondents) lived within 5 miles of the PCP's office. Care was accessible and met patients' testing needs. For most patients (84.6%), the initial and follow-up appointments took < 20 min. Follow-up TST reading rate was 98.5%; 4.3% of tests were positive. Positive TST results were associated with use of a small city pharmacy (P = 0.003). Perception differences based on location were identified.

Conclusions: Uptake of the TST service in the community pharmacy setting was high and patients reported positive experiences.

Keywords: Community pharmacy; Pharmacist; Public health; TST; Testing; Tuberculosis.

MeSH terms

Adult
Community Pharmacy Services / statistics & numerical data*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
Patient Satisfaction*
Pharmacies
Pharmacists
Surveys and Questionnaires
Telephone
Tuberculin Test / methods*
Tuberculosis / diagnosis*