(1207) Exploring Patient Perceptions of Pharmacist-provided Tobacco Cessation Services at a Federally Qualified Health Center

Objectives: Over the last several decades, published data have supported pharmacists’ value as tobacco cessation providers. Since New Mexico authorized pharmacists to prescribe tobacco cessation medications in 2004, tobacco cessation services provided by pharmacists have continued to expand. Pharmacists in 17 states are now permitted to prescribe cessation medications; however, limited studies have characterized patients’ perceptions of their experiences and satisfaction with these services. Furthermore, there are no published studies that evaluate patient’s perceptions of pharmacist-based tobacco cessation services provided in the federally qualified health center (FQHC) setting. This study will apply qualitative methods to (a) assess patient perspectives of pharmacist-provided tobacco cessation services, and (b) inform the refinement of tobacco cessation services provided to under-resourced patients receiving care at FQHCs.

Methods: Qualitative, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with up to 30 patients who have recently received tobacco cessation assistance from a pharmacist within an FQHC. Study participants will be English-speaking, 18 years of age or older, and will have recently completed their 14-day follow-up appointment following receipt of pharmacist-provided tobacco cessation services at the FQHC. Interviewees will be recruited prospectively, and within two weeks of completing their follow-up appointments (e.g. at approximately one month post-intervention).
Interview questions will elicit patient perceptions on specific aspects of pharmacist-provided tobacco cessation services in relation to the SERVQUAL and 5 Rights of Clinical Decision Support models. SERVQUAL is designed to evaluate perceptions of service quality and satisfaction through five dimensions: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, tangibles, and empathy. Similarly, the 5 Rights of Clinical Decision Support Model evaluates the appropriateness of clinical decision support systems by assessing 5 “Rights”: (1) the right information, (2) right person, (3) right format, (4) right channel, and (5) right workflow. Initial interview guide development will be informed by pharmacists who currently provide tobacco cessation services at the FQHC. Two pilot interviews will be completed to establish the face validity of interview questions and practice the question flow. Interviews will be conducted until thematic saturation is achieved (i.e., when no additional themes are extrapolated during analysis of the transcriptions).
Interviews will be recorded and transcribed by a professional transcriptionist. Thereafter, interview transcription data will be analyzed using the qualitative data management software MAXQDA, and data analysis will be completed using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Targeted analysis after each interview will be completed promptly to allow for modifications of the interview guide to better suit the analysis of study objectives. A $50 Amazon.com gift card will be provided to each patient as compensation for their time. This protocol will be approved by the Purdue University Human Research Protection Program prior to initiating data collection.

Results: Data collection and analysis will occur from October 2023 through February 2024. Data will be presented at the APhA Annual Meeting in March 2024.

Conclusions: The results of this study will characterize patients’ perceptions of service quality, appropriateness, and overall satisfaction with pharmacy-provided tobacco cessation services, including prescribing, at an FQHC. Importantly, findings from this study will provide insight regarding patients’ experiences, and ultimately will inform the improvement and further development of pharmacy services provided at FQHCs.