Supporting informal carers in medication management: qualitative insights from community pharmacy staff

Abstract Introduction Informal carers offer unpaid assistance to family and friends, often with limited recognition and support. Many carers undertake complex medication management (MM) roles for people with long-term conditions. For example, carers prepare and administer medications for their care recipients. As part of this MM role, carers commonly visit community pharmacies to collect their care recipient’s medications and may require additional advice. However, how community pharmacy staff support carers with MM has yet to be fully understood. Aim To explore the experiences of community pharmacy staff in supporting carers for people with long-term conditions in accessing community pharmacies for medication-related support. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with community pharmacy staff either in person or via call-based software. Community pharmacy staff who work in the United Kingdom (UK) were eligible to participate. A hybrid sampling approach combining convenience, purposive, and snowball methods was employed to recruit participants. The study information was shared through professional networks, social media, and community pharmacies. The interviews explored participants’ understandings of carers’ roles in managing medication for individuals with long-term conditions. Strategies to support carers’ involvement in MM and engagement with community pharmacy staff were discussed. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using a reflexive thematic approach.[1] Data management was facilitated by NVivo 13 Pro. Results Eighteen participants were interviewed from April 2025 to September 2025. The sample included pharmacists (n = 9), pharmacy assistants/dispensers (n = 7), foundation trainees (n = 1) and registered technicians (n = 1). Three overarching themes were identified from the data. First theme: community pharmacy staff’s perspectives on the varied and challenging MM roles of carers. As noted, ‘[carers] don’t always understand everything that [care recipients] taking, and some of our patients are on like 27 items’ [CPS7]. Another theme: community pharmacy staff’s roles in supporting carers with MM. Participants described community pharmacies as the ‘first port of call’ [CPS11] to access immediate medication-related information and support, including referrals to other healthcare providers. Most participants’ suggestions were centred around providing ‘leaflets and additional information’ [CPS9] and ‘having a conversation’ [CPS18]. Final theme: factors affecting carer support within community pharmacy. For example, ‘the skill set of the pharmacy team’ [CPS5]. Participants described challenges that might delay identifying carers and then offering the needed support. For instance, ‘we don’t have that one-to-one engagement unless there is a problem with the medication’ [CPS1]. Participants highlighted training needs to support carers: ‘the training needs to be in a way to help the staff to recognise those carers and then maybe tell them what supports are available’ [CPS15]. Conclusion Community pharmacy staff acknowledged carers’ roles and challenges in MM. However, community pharmacy staff may require additional training, resources, and efforts to effectively identify and support carers. Although the study sought geographical representation across the UK, most participants were based in England, which meant certain regional insights were limited. Despite this, the sample included a diverse range of community pharmacy staff, reflecting varied demographics and work experiences. Further research is needed to bridge the gap between carers and community pharmacy staff.