Our impact
We demonstrated the impact human sciences can have on patient behaviour change in pharmacy
Interventions developed by the Centre for Human Sciences were effective in challenging patient perceptions and changing their behaviour, enhancing consultations about their pain management in community pharmacy.
Our Community Pharmacy Pain Consultations Programme, conducted throughout pharmacies in Australia, evaluated the in-store cues and pharmacist training that were developed with our expert faculty. The results from this pilot demonstrated that even small nudges and additional training, when developed with human sciences in mind, can support better outcomes for patients in pain. You can read the full report of our results and methods in our white paper
Beyond pain management, there may be many areas of pharmacy practice that would benefit from using theories and techniques from behavioural, psychological and social sciences. When looking to more deeply understand patients and influence their heath behaviours, utilising ideas from other disciplines can allow us to have a significant impact on patient outcomes.
Learn more about our interventions
The Community Pharmacy Pain Consultations Programme used pharmacist training and in-store cues - interventions that were developed to deliver on specific behavioural science principles. Access these resources to help reframe patients’ perceptions of the pharmacist’s role and to encourage patients to re-evaluate their pain management.
Key findings
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Patients' perceptions of the pharmacy shifted post-intervention1
![Bar graph showing a 31% increase in patients responding “disagree” to the statement “I only see the pharmacy as a place to pick up prescriptions” post-intervention by the Centre for Human Sciences]()
A crucial objective for our behavioural change interventions was to challenge often-held patient perceptions of the pharmacy, primarily that they are simply places to pick-up prescriptions without additional clinical value. Following use of our interventions, more patients reported that they no longer saw pharmacies as a place to purely pick up prescriptions (31 percentage point increase).*1
*Pre-intervention: 76 Australian adults with musculoskeletal pain surveyed in pharmacy 22/01/2024–28/02/2024. Post-intervention: 47 Australian adults with musculoskeletal pain surveyed in pharmacy 25/03/2024–14/05/2024.
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Patients felt more prepared for a conversation with a pharmacist about their pain1
![Bar graph showing a 21% increase in patients responding “agree” to the statement “The in-store cues helped me feel prepared for a consultation about my pain” post-intervention by the Centre for Human Sciences]()
The interventions included signage which acted as cues to encourage patients to talk to their pharmacist about pain. Post-intervention, more patients reported feeling prepared for a consultation about their pain (21 percentage point increase).*1
*Pre-intervention: 76 Australian adults with musculoskeletal pain surveyed in pharmacy 22/01/2024–28/02/2024. Post-intervention: 47 Australian adults with musculoskeletal pain surveyed in pharmacy 25/03/2024–14/05/2024.
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More patients reported receiving pain management advice and a follow-up plan following intervention1
![Bar graphs showing positive increases in patients being recommended pain medication plus something other than pain medication to help manage their pain, and receiving follow-up plans for ongoing pain management, as a result of pharmacist training intervention by the Centre for Human Sciences]()
The pharmacist training provided as part of the intervention included refresher content on holistic pain management and the importance of tailored advice. Post-intervention more patients reported receiving management advice and a follow-up plan for their pain.*1
*Pre-intervention: 76 Australian adults with musculoskeletal pain surveyed in pharmacy 22/01/2024–28/02/2024. Post-intervention: 47 Australian adults with musculoskeletal pain surveyed in pharmacy 25/03/2024–14/05/2024.
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More patients were satisfied with the pharmacist’s explanation of preventative action they could take in future1
![Bar graph showing an 11% increase in patients responding “satisfied” to the statement “I was pleased with the preventative action my pharmacist suggested to help with my pain” post-intervention by the Centre for Human Sciences]()
The pharmacist training included exploration of patients concerns and barriers to better self-care, combined with a refresher on holistic pain management. Following intervention which included this training, more patients felt satisfied with their pharmacist’s explanation of preventative pain management.*1
*Pre-intervention: 76 Australian adults with musculoskeletal pain surveyed in pharmacy 22/01/2024–28/02/2024. Post-intervention: 47 Australian adults with musculoskeletal pain surveyed in pharmacy 25/03/2024–14/05/2024.
The Community Pharmacy Pain Consultations Programme
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![Two faculty members face each other.]()
The Community Pharmacy Pain Consultations Programme
The Community Pharmacy Pain Consultations Programme, led by a faculty of academic experts and practicing pharmacists, was developed to provide support to community pharmacists to enhance their patient interactions to drive better patient behaviours.
Using research-backed theory and evidence from behavioural, psychological, and social sciences, we developed and trialled interventions that change patients’ and pharmacists’ behaviour, to elevate patient–pharmacist relationships and patient outcomes.*
*study conducted in Australia
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![Image of a pharmacist and patient filling out a form]()
Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected pre- and post-intervention to build a full picture of the intervention’s success
In-store self-completed surveys and follow-up interviews with both patients and pharmacists were conducted at each location to access different aspects of the pain consultations and provide data for analysis.*
In total, 76 quantitative patient surveys were completed before the programme interventions, and 47 were completed after. With regards to qualitative interviews, 10 were conducted with patients and 5 were conducted with pharmacists pre-intervention to understand the baseline landscape, and then 5 more interviews were conducted with pharmacists post-intervention.1
*study conducted in Australia
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![Image of a pharmacist siting at a desk, reviewing documents on a clipboard]()
The demographics of the patients surveyed was similar across both pre- and post-intervention groups1
The age of patients who responded to the pre-intervention surveys ranged from 18–98 years, which was slightly wider than the age range of post-intervention respondents who were 20–76 years.
On average, pre-intervention patients reported slightly higher levels of pain. There were slightly more women than men in both the pre- and post-intervention groups, and most were working Australians who responded to the survey on their own behalf. Across both groups, the median age of all patients surveyed was 51 years, with the most frequently reported types of pain including joint pain, muscle pain, and arthritis.1
Learn more about the power of human sciences
Take our training
Training for pharmacists from our intervention programme, Pain Management: The Role of Pharmacy, is now available.
Access the in-store cues
Request our in-store cues starter pack to start harnessing human sciences in your pharmacy today.
Our mission
Find out how we’re working with experts in human sciences to drive patient change.
