Academic Journal
Provision of harm reduction services in community pharmacies: Findings from an Australian national sample.
| Τίτλος: | Provision of harm reduction services in community pharmacies: Findings from an Australian national sample. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Picco L; Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: louisa.picco@monash.edu., Jung M; Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia., Fox F; Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia., Laing R; Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia., Yuan V; Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia., Li A; Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia., Dostal J; Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia., McMaugh J; Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Parkville, Victoria, Australia., Nielsen S; Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. |
| Πηγή: | The International journal on drug policy [Int J Drug Policy] 2026 Aug; Vol. 154, pp. 105351. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 05. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 9014759 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-4758 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09553959 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Drug Policy Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: 1998- : Amsterdam ; New York : Elsevier Original Publication: Liverpool, England : International Journal on Drug Policy |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Community Pharmacy Services*/organization & administration , Community Pharmacy Services*/statistics & numerical data , Pharmacists*/statistics & numerical data , Pharmacists*/organization & administration , Harm Reduction*, Needle-Exchange Programs/statistics & numerical data ; Naloxone/administration & dosage ; Narcotic Antagonists/administration & dosage ; Humans ; Australia |
| Περίληψη: | Background: Pharmacists provide a broad range of harm reduction services, with service uptake often influenced by state-based policies. This study aimed to map the provision of harm reduction services and determine predictors of increased uptake among community pharmacies. Methods: An anonymous online survey of Australian community pharmacists collected data on pharmacist and pharmacy characteristics and the provision of harm reduction services, and explored pharmacy-level characteristics associated with the provision of greater harm reduction services. Results: The sample comprised 730 pharmacists. Harm reduction service provision included take-home naloxone (73.2%, n = 730), needle and syringe programs (51.5%, n = 643), opioid agonist treatment (46.2%, n = 686) and supplying hepatitis C (55.0%, n = 660) and HIV medications (66.8%, n = 656). Jurisdictional variability was observed. For example, on-site administration of long-acting injectable buprenorphine ranged from 2.9% in Victoria to 12.7% in New South Wales, while needle and syringe programs ranged from 35.0% (New South Wales) to 82.1% (Western Australia). Pharmacies in less densely populated states (Queensland (Adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 2.80, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.85-4.24) and Western Australia (aOR 2.72, 95%CI 1.65-4.50)) had significantly higher odds of providing a broader range of harm reduction services, compared to New South Wales (Australia's most populous state), as were pharmacies located outside of capital cities (aOR 1.48, 95%CI 1.10-2.03). Conclusions: Australian community pharmacies demonstrate high engagement with harm reduction services, despite jurisdictional differences for some services. Financially incentivised policies appeared to facilitate uptake. Findings highlight the role of enablers in pharmacy-based harm reduction and offer insights to expand uptake, locally and internationally. (Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest L.P. and S.N. are recipients of NHMRC Investigator Grants (#2016909 and #2025894). A.L. and V.Y. were supported by Eastern Health Clinical School Summer Scholarships. All authors have no other competing interests to declare. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Australia; Community pharmacies; Harm reduction; Naloxone; Needle and syringe programs; Opioid agonist treatment; Pharmacists |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 36B82AMQ7N (Naloxone) 0 (Narcotic Antagonists) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260605 Date Completed: 20260612 Latest Revision: 20260612 |
| Update Code: | 20260613 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.drugpo.2026.105351 |
| PMID: | 42248708 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1873-4758 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.drugpo.2026.105351 |