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Guest Post: Pharmacists’ Care of People at Risk of Suicide Survey
When you talk with community pharmacists about their experiences with people experiencing a mental health crisis it often leads to a long and earnest discussion.
Community pharmacists are accessible health care providers with hours of operation that extend beyond those of most health care professionals. This includes evenings, weekends, and holidays. Many pharmacists have stories to share about people who have phoned or visited the pharmacy in a crisis, including with suicidal thinking or behaviours.
Pharmacists are intrinsically linked to people at risk of suicide. We supply prescription and non-prescription medications commonly used in suicide attempts. We care for people with mental illness and addictions throughout their recovery, which occasionally includes immediately following a suicide attempt. We are directly involved in the management of people taking medications that can ameliorate, and sometimes promote, suicide risk.
Surprisingly, there is very little research about the pharmacist’s care of people at risk of suicide. Yet, it seems as though most pharmacists have one or more stories to share about their involvement in the care of patients at risk of suicide, and its personal impact.
In order to better characterize the pharmacists’ experiences in this area, Dalhousie University and the University of Sydney is conducting a 2-nation survey across Australia and Canada. This will give the opportunity for analysis of experiences across regions and between countries with many similarities, including focused research programs of community pharmacy-based mental health care. This survey will help to inform future intervention development and implementation to help pharmacists in their care of patients at risk of suicide.
Take the survey: http://bit.ly/pharmacist-survey-s.
We welcome any pharmacist living in Canada or Australia who is currently a community pharmacist or has worked in the past as a community pharmacist to participate in the survey.
Dr. David Gardner is a Professor with the Department of Psychiatry and the College of Pharmacy at Dalhousie University. He is interested in improving the care and health of people living with mental illness. His research focuses on improving the safe and effective use of psychiatric medications, providing improved physical health care to people with mental illness, and increasing the capacity of care in the community. He is working with community pharmacy to support people in their communities to achieve good health outcomes and a high quality of life. His research ranges from pharmacoepidemiological studies to program implementation and evaluation.
Dr. Andrea Murphy is an Associate Professor with the College of Pharmacy at Dalhousie University. Her program of research is focused on health services and health outcomes. She works with multidisciplinary teams exploring areas such as how medicines, other interventions, and care models impact aspects of health and how evidence about these interventions is translated to key stakeholders and subsequently implemented in practice.
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