Stelfox Erica, Tucci Joseph, Dickson-Swift Virginia, Tadakamadla Santosh Kumar
Department of Rural Clinical Sciences, La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
La Trobe Institute of Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
Aust J Rural Health. 2025 Jun;33(3):e70059. doi: 10.1111/ajr.70059.
To investigate rural pharmacists' perceptions of oral health services they provide in towns without dental practitioners and how to best expand their role.
Community pharmacists are well placed to provide oral health services in rural areas where oral health is poorer and access to dental care is limited. Pharmacists' views on oral health advice delivery and how to best expand their role in oral health need to be assessed.
Participants were community pharmacists practicing in small rural towns without a dental practitioner in Victoria, Australia.
Eleven community pharmacists participated in semi-structured telephone interviews that were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were thematically analysed using NVivo software.
Five overarching themes were derived from the data analysis, including confidence in delivering oral hygiene instructions, barriers and facilitators to providing oral health advice, recommendations for advertising and implementing oral health promotion, undergoing oral health training and recommendations for increased collaboration with dental practitioners. Pharmacists were confident in delivering basic oral hygiene instructions upon patient request. Most pharmacists were interested in verbally delivering oral health advice. Barriers identified included time constraints and operating as a single pharmacist. Pharmacists requested enhanced training, ideally online as continued professional development and support from pharmacy educational and regulatory bodies or dental practitioners to be able to expand their scope.
There is a need for additional training, resources and support for rural pharmacists to deliver this expanded role in oral health to improve oral health outcomes for rural people.
调查乡村药剂师对其在没有牙科医生的城镇所提供口腔健康服务的看法，以及如何最好地扩大他们的作用。
在口腔健康较差且获得牙科护理机会有限的农村地区，社区药剂师非常适合提供口腔健康服务。需要评估药剂师对提供口腔健康建议的看法以及如何最好地扩大他们在口腔健康方面的作用。
参与者是在澳大利亚维多利亚州没有牙科医生的小乡村城镇执业的社区药剂师。
11名社区药剂师参与了半结构化电话访谈，访谈进行了录音并逐字转录。使用NVivo软件对转录本进行了主题分析。
数据分析得出了五个总体主题，包括提供口腔卫生指导的信心、提供口腔健康建议的障碍和促进因素、口腔健康促进广告和实施的建议、接受口腔健康培训以及与牙科医生加强合作的建议。药剂师在应患者要求提供基本口腔卫生指导方面充满信心。大多数药剂师有兴趣口头提供口腔健康建议。确定的障碍包括时间限制和作为单一药剂师执业。药剂师要求加强培训，理想情况下是在线培训作为持续专业发展，以及获得药学教育和监管机构或牙科医生的支持，以便能够扩大他们的范围。
需要为乡村药剂师提供额外的培训、资源和支持，以便他们在口腔健康方面发挥这一扩大的作用，从而改善农村人口的口腔健康状况。
