Pharmacists can play an important role in health promotion by providing information to help individuals prevent diseases, detect diseases early, and manage conditions better. In community pharmacies, pharmacists conduct health promotion activities like organizing theme weeks to educate the public on topics such as smoking cessation, diet and exercise, cardiovascular health, immunizations, and sexual health. Pharmacists must convey information in an understandable way and use effective methods to maximize the impact. Conducting health promotion requires identifying priority issues, setting targets, developing programs, and evaluating outcomes. Pharmacists are well-positioned to encourage positive behavioral changes that promote healthy lifestyles.

1. Pharmacist as a
Health Promotor
Phr. Lok RajBhandari

2. Introduction
• Health promotion: a process enabling people to
increase control over and to improve their health.
• Health education: giving information and working
towards improving individual attitude and behaviour
changes to sustain healthy living.

3. Pharmacist as Health Promoter
• In health promotion, pharmacists provide information
and skills to individuals so that they can prevent
specific diseases and participate in services for early
detection and treatment of disease.
• The process involves a behavioral change approach
such as in advising individuals on the importance of
preventing and managing obesity.

4. • Health promotion activities from community
pharmacies include the organisation of theme-
oriented weeks where patients and general public are
advised on the theme, and written and other visual
aids are available in the pharmacy for further
information and for shop window dressing.

5. Themes of health promotion in
community pharmacies
• Smoking cessation programmes
• Diet, exercise and body weight
• Cardiovascular disease risk and prevention
• Travel medicine
• Patient concordance with treatment
• Immunization programmes
• Sexual health
• Screening tests
• Alcohol and drug abuse.

6. Pharmacist: Information
conveyer
• The information presented should be
educational but at the same time acceptable to
busy patrons. An entertaining presentation helps
to make the information attractive and prompts
the individual to take notice of the message
being transmitted.

7. • The impact of the information transmitted
depends on the methods used to convey the
information. The information presented has to be
understandable by the individual. Pharmacists
are in a position of interpreting scientific
information so as to convey the message to the
individuals in an understandable manner.

8. Factors influencing healthpromotion
activities in community pharmacies
Positive factors
• Environment within the pharmacy conducive to
health promotion
• Accessibility of the pharmacy
• Communication skills of community pharmacist
• Strong pharmacist–patient relationship.

9. Negative factors
• Lack of resource materials
• Lack of space
• Lack of confidentiality
• Improper time management of the
pharmacy personnel.

10. Planning a health promotion
campaign
• Identify area(s) to be addressed
• Establish targets to be achieved
• Identify resources that can be used and
are already available
• Develop a practical and realistic
implementation programme
• Establish evaluation methods
• Set an action plan.

11. Summary
• Pharmacists are accessible health
professionals who can play a very proactive
role in promoting health.
• Pharmacists should actively promote healthy
lifestyles including discouraging smoking,
pointing out the importance of exercise and
highlighting the benefits of a healthy diet.
• Pharmacists in any practice setting should
encourage positive behavioral changes.

12. Question : List five points helpful in
counselling patients on smoking cessation.
• a) Act as a role model by not smoking and not
allowing smoking on the premises (e.g. putting
up no smoking signs).
• (b) Provide patient with information on the risks
associated with smoking (e.g. use patient
leaflets about smoking).

13. • (c) Encourage abstinence by directly advising
the patient on how to quit and highlighting
benefits of stopping smoking (e.g. effects on
family members particularly patients with
cardiovascular disease and children).
• (d) Refer patient to smoking cessation support
groups (e.g. programmes organised by the local
health promotion centre).

14. • (e) Follow up on the use of smoking
cessation products and maintenance
strategies (e.g. schedule a follow-up visit).

15. References
• Anderson C, Blenkinsopp A and Armstrong M (2009).
The contribution of community pharmacy to improving
the public’s health: Summary report of the literature
review 1990–2007. London: PharmacyHealthLink.
• McClelland C and Rees L (2000). A foundation for health
promotion in pharmacy practice. In: Gard P (ed.) A
Behavioural Approach to Pharmacy Practice. London:
Blackwell Science.
• Root G (2008). Help the public and the planet by
engaging in sustainable development. Pharm J 281:
596–59