Developing and evaluating training for pharmacists to offer a pharmacy-led public health service in primary care

BACKGROUND: Currently in Greece, no formal organisation offers post-academic education to pharmacists. To improve the clinical practice of pharmacists, there is a need for training that will educate them on how to approach and consult their patients. The study aimed to evaluate the training required by pharmacists to offer a pharmacy-led weight management service in Greece. METHODS: The study consisted of 3 phases. During the first phase educational needs of the participating pharmacists were identified. A pre-training quiz was given consisting of 14 questions to investigate the participating pharmacists’ knowledge on guidance, causes and facts of obesity. The second phase comprised the training design and delivery. The final phase dealt with training evaluation (27 questions in total), which included the perceived rating of knowledge and confidence levels pre- and post-training, and a post-training quiz (the same as the pre-training quiz). The post-evaluation questionnaire and the quiz (pre- and post-training) results were entered into SPSS Version 23 for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The mean total quiz score was 6.38 (SD = 2.56) pre-training compared to 11.92 (SD = 1.20) post-training (P < 0.001). Nearly all community pharmacists, 96.2% (n = 25) stated that they had an excellent/good experience and 88.5% (n = 23) strongly agreed/agreed that their expectations were met. CONCLUSIONS: Training delivered was well received and it enhanced participants’ knowledge on the topic. Limitations include the small number of participating pharmacists and investigation of short-term training effects only. Due to the positive outcomes of the training, however, it has the potential to become a model for Greek pharmacists to offer different pharmacy-led public health services.