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Pharmacist Involvement in Addressing Public Health Priorities and Community Needs: The Allegheny County Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Project
PROGRAM EVALUATION BRIEF — Volume 18 — January 28, 2021
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.
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.
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