PCD logo

Pharmacist Involvement in Addressing Public Health Priorities and Community Needs: The Allegheny County Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Project

PEER REVIEWED

The building blocks/partner organizations are Duquesne University Center for Integrative Health, Allegheny County Health Department, YMCA, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Just Harvest, The Food Trust, and other community-based partners. The intervention/innovation components are pharmacist navigation program: community-based pharmacists provision of community health screenings and community–clinical linkages (CCLs); implemented CCLs to social, clinical, and behavior-change programs; pharmacist provided telephone follow-up with community members. The short-term outcomes (process) were increased awareness of community resources; increased communication and resource sharing across sectors; improved referral and tracking mechanisms; improved coordination of services for individuals. Health screening led to linkage to care, and linkage to care led to patient-reported follow-up. Sixty-three community screening events took place; 702 Black/African American community members received at least 1 health screening; 508 Black/African American community members had a health screen that indicated risk for chronic disease. Of the 508, 2 were referred to a pharmacy, 132 were referred to a diabetes prevention program, 179 were referred to a smoking cessation program, 338 were referred to an established primary care provider, 4 were referred to a new primary care provider, 53 were referred to Food Bank/Just Harvest, and 6 were referred to an emergency department. At follow-up 2 people reported linkage to a pharmacy, 47 reported linkage to a diabetes prevention program, 21 reported linking with a smoking cessation program, 39 reported linking with an established primary care provider, 1 reported linking with a new primary care provider, 4 reported linking with Food Bank/Just Harvest, and 3 reported linking with an emergency department.

Return to your place in the text
Figure.

Description of the project, referrals to community resources, and follow-up in a community-based pharmacist navigation program implemented in predominately African American communities, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 2019–2020.

Return to Article

Top

Error processing SSI file

The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors’ affiliated institutions.