New Zealand community pharmacist attitudes toward opioid-dependent clients

Abstract

Aim: To survey New Zealand community pharmacists to explore levels of training, attitudes towards providing services for drug users, and associations with current and past practice.

Methods: Postal survey of 898 randomly selected community pharmacists. Questions included demography, training and a 20-question attitude scale. Principle component analysis was conducted to identify the main attitude factors. Multiple linear regressions were used to model the effect of different independent variables on the factors.

Findings: Twenty-six percent of respondents had previously undertaken training about the management of opioid misuse. Four principal factors explained 57% of the variance within the attitude questions. These were attitudes towards: ‘the general results of dispensing methadone to opioid misusers’; ‘the effect of opioid-dependent clients on a pharmacy’; ‘reducing harm associated with drug use’; and ‘engaging with drug users’. Training (having it or wanting to have it) was positively associated with the four attitude factors.

Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that attitudes towards various aspects of service provision to drug misusers may not be as simple as previously perceived.

• Pharmacies
• methadone
• needle-exchange programs
• substance abuse
• attitude
• education