Cross Sectional Survey of the Scottish General Public's Awareness of, Views on, and Attitudes Toward Nonmedical Prescribing

• Published in: The Annals of pharmacotherapy 2009-06, Vol.43 (6), p.1115-1121
• Main Authors: Stewart, Derek C, George, Johnson, Diack, H Lesley, Bond, Christine M, McCaig, Dorothy J, Cunningham, IT Scott, Munro, Kim, Pfleger, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; Educational Status; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Personnel - organization & administration; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nurses - organization & administration; Pharmaceutical Services - organization & administration; Pharmacists - organization & administration; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - organization & administration; Professional Role; Public Opinion; Scotland; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1060-0280; 1542-6270
• DOI: 10.1345/aph.1L609

Background Nonmedical (ie, nonphysician) prescribing is a key development in the UK that has brought about many changes in prescribing policy and practice. Systematic research into the views of the general public toward such developments is limited. Objective To determine the awareness of, views on, and attitudes of members of the Scottish general public toward nonmedical prescribing, with an emphasis on pharmacist prescribing. Methods A questionnaire was mailed in November 2006 to a random sample of 5000 members of the general public in Scotland aged 18 and over, obtained from the UK electoral roll. The questionnaire contained items on awareness of nonmedical prescribing, levels of comfort with specific health professionals, and attitudes toward pharmacist prescribing. Results Response rate was 37.1%. More than half of the individuals who responded were taking prescribed drugs. Nine hundred and seventy-eight (56.6%) were aware that trained health professionals could write prescriptions for medicines previously only prescribed by physicians. Awareness was associated with: increasing age (p < 0.001), having a health professional in their immediate family (p < 0.001), self-rated general health (p < 0.005), and a higher education level (p < 0.01). In logistic regression, all factors were retained as independent predictors of awareness (p < 0.001). Comfort levels for nonmedical prescribing were highest for pharmacists (median 4, IQR 3–5 [1 = low, 5 = high]), closely followed by nurses, and lowest for radiographers (median 2, IQR 1–4) (p