Roles and Identity of Community Pharmacists in the Philippine Rural Setting

Abstract

Despite being the most accessible healthcare professionals in the community, Filipino community pharmacists remain underutilized. This study aims to explore the roles and identity of Filipino community pharmacists in a selected third-class rural municipality in Pampanga, utilizing a phenomenological design from November 2017 to February 2018. Licensed community pharmacists, regardless of demographics or professional background, participated in in-depth interviews. Additionally, interviews were conducted with drugstore owners and frequent customers to validate findings. Interviews were coded and transcribed, with bracketing observed. Qualitative data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method, including Cool and Warm Analyses. Themes emerged describing the roles of Filipino community pharmacists: promoting safe drug use, ensuring medicine quality, counseling patients, training pharmacy assistants, and managing records. The identity of Filipino community pharmacists as drug experts, managers, and sellers also emerged. Factors influencing their identity included workplace experience, advocacy on drug use, desire to uplift the profession, and love towards hometown. The study revealed that while participants are aware of their roles and identity, their experiences at work and local beliefs significantly influence their practice.