Understanding and optimising an identification/brief advice (IBA) service about alcohol in the community pharmacy setting

Abstract

This is the final report of an evaluation into the identification/brief advice (IBA) service about alcohol in community pharmacy settings in the North West of England. Since 2007, almost 100 pharmacies in the North West have - at some point - been commissioned to provide an identification and brief advice (IBA) service for alcohol. This evaluation sought to understand how the service had been adapted for and implemented in the community pharmacy setting, and how its potential might be maximised. Its aims were:
1. To characterise, consolidate and optimise both the constant and variable elements of the pharmacy alcohol identification/brief advice (IBA) service in NHS Northwest, and
2. To inform planning for current and future pharmacy based services promoting safe consumption of alcohol.

The evaluation was split into three main workstreams, supported by a preliminary scoping phase, and combined quantitative and qualitative methods:
• Descriptive and comparative statistical analysis of pharmacy alcohol IBA data;
• In-pharmacy work, including observation of staff engagement with customers, recording consultations between staff and customers, follow-up telephone interviews with customers, and group feedback interviews with pharmacy staff;
• Stakeholder engagement through self-completion surveys, semi-structured interviews and a workshop.

This report gives the background to the project, and details the methods, results and implications.