(1296) Assessment of the Impact of Social Determinants of Health Barriers on Community Pharmacist-provided Nutrition Counseling

Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to explore the social determinants of health impact on patients access to community pharmacist-provided nutrition counseling. The secondary objective is to identify barriers that hinder patients’ access to pharmacist nutrition counseling and food security.

Recognizing and addressing nutritional needs is a cornerstone of achieving and maintaining optimal health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nutritional requirements can significantly differ among individuals based on their specific factors including age, gender, and underlying health conditions. The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) states that there is an evident need for education on nutrition in that it serves as a tool in averting and managing diet-related chronic diseases, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. Community pharmacists play a crucial role in promoting public health by providing nutrition counseling and guidance to diverse populations. However, the effectiveness of these interventions can be influenced by various social determinants of health (SDOH), which encompass economic, social, and environmental factors. Additionally, community pharmacists are increasingly recognized as valuable and accessible healthcare providers who can offer essential nutrition counseling to patients managing various disease states. Currently, there is limited literature evaluating the impact of community pharmacists on nutrition counseling on patients with chronic disease states. Therefore, studying the social determinants of health on community pharmacist-provided nutrition counseling based for a patient’s disease state is essential to provide patient-centered care that addresses underlying barriers, improving adherence, and potentially promote long-term outcomes.

Methods: This study explores the impact of SDOH barriers to accessing nutrition counseling. The research will be conducted by gathering patients’ insights into their experiences and perceptions through a structured survey given to a diverse patient population. The survey will collect data on demographics, disease states, SDOH-related factors, and barriers to accessing nutrition counseling at multiple locations of a grocery store pharmacy chain. Data collection will occur over a period of two months and will utilize Likert scale questions. This phase of the study will include ten grocery store pharmacy sites in Idaho and one in Oregon where distributions of surveys will be given to patients who fit inclusion criteria.
Participants who are included in this study must be at least 18 years and older and have a chronic disease state. Patients are excluded from the study if they have yet to receive at least two refills of a medication indicated for treatment of their specific disease state.
Pharmacy staff will be provided with a QR code to give to patients to self-enroll in the study. This survey will be blinded as those distributing the survey will not have access to patients’ responses. Data analysis using descriptive statistics will occur upon completion of data collection in order to summarize and organize the responses of the participants, such as Chi-square tests to explore the relationships between demographic variables, awareness, barriers, and health outcomes. This study is pending Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.

Results: Institutional Review Board approval is anticipated in October 2023. Data collection will occur from December 2023 to February 2024.

Conclusions: The findings of this study will be useful to better understand patient barriers to a community pharmacist-provided nutrition counseling on a patient’s disease state.