Use of nicotine replacement therapy to reduce children's exposure to second-hand smoke in the home: a qualitative pilot study involving local community pharmacies.

BACKGROUND: In Scotland, and in several other countries, most second-hand smoke exposure now occurs in low-income households, where housing constraints and sole parenting often make it harder to create a smoke-free home. This pilot study provided people who smoke with a free 12-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy through local community pharmacies to reduce smoking indoors. METHODS: Twenty-five parents/caregivers who smoked in the home and cared for children at least weekly were recruited via Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic. Air quality (PM2.5) was monitored in participant homes for seven days before their first pharmacy visit and 12 weeks later. Qualitative interviews (N = 14) were conducted with 13 participants who completed the study and one who withdrew part-way through. The interviews explored views/experiences of using nicotine replacement therapy to help create a smoke-free home. Another participant took part in a shorter telephone discussion at their request, with detailed notes taken by the interviewer, because of their speech disorder. RESULTS: Three participants reported smoking outdoors only, one of whom subsequently quit smoking. Six participants reported reduced cigarette consumption by 50% in the home, four reported no (sustained) reduction and one reported increased smoking indoors. Self-reported outcomes were not always consistent with PM2.5 readings. Participants' experiences of accessing nicotine replacement therapy through community pharmacies varied. Some suggested ongoing support to use nicotine replacement products could better assist behavioural change, and that access could be streamlined by posting products to the home. Several suggested that focusing on changing home smoking behaviours using nicotine replacement therapy might facilitate a future quit attempt. CONCLUSION: Access to free nicotine replacement therapy for temporary use indoors may support some people who smoke to reduce children's exposure to second-hand smoke. Our findings confirm the need to modify the intervention before undertaking a definitive trial to assess the effectiveness of this approach. This work is now underway.

Implementation of point-of-care HbA1C instruments into community pharmacies: Initial development of a pathway for robust community testing.

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care (POC) analysers in community settings can provide opportunistic and regular HbA1c monitoring. Community pharmacies in NHS Scotland are utilised by populations at greatest risk of type two diabetes (T2D). This study describes initial development of an HbA1c pathway using a POC analyser in community pharmacies. METHODS: The Abbott Afinion analyser was compared in (i) NHS Tayside's Blood Sciences Service and (ii) community pharmacies from four Scottish Health Boards. A side by side comparison with standard operating procedures for HbA1c quantification using 80 T2D patient venous samples. The machine was implemented into 11 community pharmacies and 144 samples obtained from patients for comparison to their recent laboratory HbA1c. Four focus groups examined themes around the intervention and an exit questionnaire was administered. RESULTS: Laboratory assessment verified the efficacy of the POC test machine. The value for level 1 quality control was 44 mmol/mol and the mean during testing 42.7 mmol/mol. The greatest percent coefficient of variation (cv) was within-run for both levels of quality control material, at a value of 1.63% and 1.62%, respectively. The analyser performed robustly within the pharmacy assessment, with a mean difference of 1.68 and a standard deviation of 0.71 (CV 0.423). Patients with T2D reported positive experiences of using a pharmacy. The focus groups identified an appreciation of the convenience of pharmacies and of the longitudinal relationships with pharmacy staff. CONCLUSION: POC HbA1c analysers can be successfully established in community pharmacies. The target patient group responded positively to the opportunity to use a pharmacy service.