Understanding public trust in services provided by community pharmacists relative to those provided by general practitioners: a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT: To apply sociological theories to understand public trust in extended services provided by community pharmacists relative to those provided by general practitioners (GPs). Qualitative study involving focus groups with members of the public. The West of Scotland. 26 purposively sampled members of the public were involved in one of five focus groups. The groups were composed to represent known groups of users and non-users of community pharmacy, namely mothers with young children, seniors and men. Trust was seen as being crucial in healthcare settings. Focus group discussions revealed that participants were inclined to draw unfavourable comparisons between pharmacists and GPs. Importantly, participants' trust in GPs was greater than that in pharmacists. Participants considered pharmacists to

SUBMITTER: Gidman W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3358628 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature