The Magazine
The Magazine
Did you know there are some simple steps pharmacists can take to enhance patient behaviour around pain management?
The Haleon Centre for Human Sciences, an initiative led by Haleon, brings together the expertise of health professionals and human scientists to tackle behavioural barriers in everyday health. By leveraging Haleon’s trusted science and deep human understanding, the Centre for Human Sciences aims to help health professionals enhance health outcomes in their communities.
Recognising the growing need for better pain management highlighted in the Haleon Pain Index 2023, the Community Pharmacy Pain Consultations Programme, the inaugural programme from the Centre for Human Sciences, has recently launched its ‘Pain Points’ pharmacy intervention study. The interventions showed that using simple behavioural science techniques across in-store prompts and cues, and within pharmacist training, can enhance patient-pharmacist interactions and lead to better body pain management outcomes for patients.
Simple interventions such as window posters and floor graphics were designed to encourage patients to think differently about their pharmacist’s role and engage more actively with them about their pain management needs. Self-guided training modules were also created with the aim to enhance pharmacists’ confidence, and their ability with pain management consultations.
When placed within pharmacies, these interventions effectively encouraged patients to discuss their pain with their community pharmacist, supported better consultations, and helped to re-frame patient perceptions.
The study found:
At The Pharmacy Show 2024 in Birmingham, UK, the Centre for Human Sciences’ expert faculty team unveiled a white paper titled ‘Pain Points. Breaking Down Barriers to Effective Patient-Pharmacist Consultations’ with the key findings of the study and held a thought-provoking discussion reflecting on the insights with experts at the event.
Laura Street, Global Expert Marketing Director at Haleon, said: “The Centre for Human Sciences aims to influence patient behaviour positively through trusted science and real-world, deep human understanding. Many patients in pain have established habits of thought and behaviour that prevent them from discussing their pain, evaluating their treatment needs, or following clinical advice. We recognise the pressing need to support pharmacists in fulfilling their potential as holistic healthcare providers.”
Want to learn more about the Haleon Centre for Human Sciences? Click here for more information.
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