Pharmacists' Experiences in and Perceptions Toward Serving the Needs of Spanish-Speaking Patients in North Carolina Community Pharmacies
Associate Professor Betsy Sleath Ph.D. and R.Ph.pages: 77 - 91
- DOI: 10.1300/J060v09n04_03
- Version of record first published: 01Sep2003
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to examine pharmacists' experiences in and perceptions toward providing care to Spanish-speaking patients. A survey was sent to 300 randomly selected North Carolina community pharmacists in March of 1998. Pharmacists were asked to provide information on the percentage of their patient population that speaks only Spanish, the services offered to Spanish-speaking patients, their perceptions of the appropriateness of counseling being provided to Spanish-speaking patients, and their interest in learning Spanish. The survey response rate was 48%.
Eighty-three percent of pharmacists reported that 1% or more of the patients they served spoke only Spanish. Fifty-four percent of pharmacists stated their stores provided prescription labels in Spanish, 34% provided written drug information sheets in Spanish, 6% offered over-the-counter products with Spanish labels, and 15% provided auxiliary labels in Spanish. The majority of pharmacists believed that English-speaking patients receive better oral (92%) and written (74%) prescription medication information than Spanish-speaking patients. Multivariate linear regression revealed that white pharmacists, pharmacists who served patient populations with more Spanish-speaking patients, and pharmacists whose stores do not provide written medication information in Spanish were significantly more likely to believe that Spanish-speaking patients receive worse written medication information than English-speaking patients. Forty-eight percent of pharmacists stated that Spanish was needed in their practice, and 22% were extremely interested in improving their knowledge of Spanish. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that pharmacist-perceived need for Spanish significantly predicted pharmacist interest in learning Spanish.
Efforts are needed to develop mechanisms to improve care for Spanish-speaking patients in community pharmacies so patients can receive adequate information about their medications.