Project gets $2M to put sexual health services into N.L. pharmacies

A project dedicated to making sexual health services accessible in pharmacies has received $2 million in funding from a federal agency.

Doctors and researchers from across the country collaborated on a project looking at ways to make sexual health care more accessible to Canadians by getting more of it into pharmacies.

Dr. Debbie Kelly, the director of Memorial University's school of pharmacy, was the project's principal investigator.

"What we're going to be doing is looking at the evidence across the board," Kelly said. "And how do we move it from our existing systems to make health care more accessible for Canadians in relation to sexual well-being."

Funding has been provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to be used over the next five years.

The project aims to collect research on education, prevention and treatment resources for sexually transmitted and bloodborne diseases such as HIV and syphilis, and then translate the research into concrete changes in the health-care system. Kelly said the current capacity of the health-care system to provide these services is limited.

"We're losing people between getting tested and actually connecting them with care and treatment," she said. "So if we can make testing easier for people by using rapid tests at pharmacies and connecting them with a health-care provider like a pharmacist, we can provide that level of preventive care. And if somebody has a positive test, they can be connected with treatment."

Taking a community approach

With the funding, Kelly said, they can learn better how to integrate their model into pharmacies, and keep it there.

To identify best practices, they are talking to people involved in the process, such as pharmacists. They aim to understand their workflow and find ways to effectively manage their workload. Kelly said many pharmacists face resource and staff shortages in handling their regular workload.

Additionally, Kelly said they will speak with people in different communities to learn about their specific needs, as some areas have a higher rate of certain diseases and challenges than others.

It's important work, Kelly explained, because many people aren't aware of the risks of catching a disease that could take months or even years to manifest outwardly in the body. With this model, pharmacies would have the ability to help people become aware and connect them to health-care providers when they find out they carry a disease.

"And so [we're] figuring out a lot of those pieces of the puzzle, so that at the end of the day, we can be nimble and respond to what the provinces need, when they need it, over the span of the next five years."

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