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related concerns.

There were both quantitative and qualitative findings for this Aim. First, I will discuss the quantitative results from the Pharmacy Support Scale which covered the caregiver’s perception of the availability of and communication and interaction with the pharmacist. Next, I will present the qualitative results which are from the free-form

comments that were included by the caregivers at the end of the study questionnaire. At the end of the questionnaire the caregivers were asked to, “Please use this space to share with us any other thoughts or ideas that you have about managing your loved one’s medications or about caregiving, in general.” The comments that were specifically related to medication management or their thoughts about pharmacists/pharmacy services were categorized and presented below under Qualitative Findings.

Quantitative Findings: The distribution of responses to the questions about caregiver’s perceptions of pharmacists and pharmacy services are in Table 6.12 while the descriptive statistics for these items are presented in Table 6.13. The most favorable responses regarding pharmacists was both their availability and ability to answer questions about medications with caregivers, 79.5% and 81.3%, respectively, responding that they agreed or strongly agreed with those statements. Items that related to the pharmacist being proactive in their communication were not viewed as positively by caregivers with ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ responses from 51.5% (n=69) regarding the pharmacist warning them about problems, 48.8% (n=65) regarding the pharmacist telling them what the medication is used

for, and 49.3% (n=66) regarding the pharmacist giving advice that helps the caregiver to manage the loved one’s medications. Sixty-six caregivers (49.3%) responded favorably (agree/strongly agree) to the pharmacist caring about their overall health and well-being while 89 caregivers (66.4%) did trust the pharmacist to give them the best information about medications.

The lowest responses from caregivers about pharmacy services were related to the privacy at their local pharmacy, the time spent by the pharmacist and their perception that the pharmacist worked closely with their loved one’s doctor. Only 45 caregivers (33.6%) believed that that there was a place at the pharmacy where they could talk in private with their pharmacist and just 68 caregivers (51%) were satisfied with the amount of time spent by the pharmacist. Finally, only 51 caregivers (38.1%) felt as if their pharmacist worked with their loved one’s doctors to provide the best medications possible.

Qualitative Findings: The free form comments related to medication management included by caregivers at the end of the study questionnaire were collated and grouped into five categories: (1) support for medication management, (2) organizing medications, (3) affording medications, (4) scheduling medication fills/refills, and (5) pharmacist/pharmacy experiences. A summary of the qualitative findings are in Table 6.14. There were many other comments that were related to the overall burden and stress of caregiving; however, those were not categorized as that was outside the scope of this research study. The majority of the comments related to medication management that were included by caregivers were consistent with the questions that were included in the SCMC scale and its two domains— medication administration and medication effects. The comments under organizing

in the medication administration items while the majority of the comments under

pharmacist/pharmacy experiences were included in the medication effects items. However, there were two comments under pharmacist/pharmacy experiences that were not addressed in the SCMC and those were issues around mail order pharmacy delays and the difficulties associated with prescription bottles (e.g., problems with bottle caps and small print). One other issue raised in the comments that was not addressed in the study questionnaire was level of support available to the caregiver from family, friends or others specifically for medication management. The two handwritten comments referred to having either hired help (e.g., home health aide) or a family member (e.g., sister) help administer or organize the medications. The concept of substitution and the availability of others to help with the process and its subsequent impact on the medication management process were captured in the qualitative analysis but not in the quantitative one.

Table 6.13: Descriptive Statistics for Satisfaction with Pharmacist and Pharmacy Services (n=139)

Mean SD Range The pharmacist is usually available to answer

my questions about my loved one’s medications.

2.96 0.96 0-4

The pharmacist warns me about problems that my loved one might have with the

medications.

2.29 1.21 0-4

The pharmacist tells me what my loved one’s

medications are used for. 2.17 1.22 0-4

I receive advice from the pharmacist that helps

me to manage my loved one’s medications. 2.21 1.17 0-4

The pharmacist answers any questions that I

have about my loved one’s medications. 2.88 0.96 0-4

I feel like the pharmacist really cares about my

overall health and well-being. 2.37 1.14 0-4

There is a place at the pharmacy where I can

talk in private with the pharmacist. 1.81 1.22 0-4

I am satisfied with the amount of time that the

pharmacist spends with me. 2.37 1.07 0-4

I trust the pharmacist to give me the best information about my loved one’s medications.

2.67 1.05 0-4

The pharmacist works with my loved one’s doctors to provide the best medications possible.

Chapter 7