Health education, what is the role for pharmacist? Results from a cross sectional study in Umbria, Italy

Nowadays, the community pharmacist's role is undergoing profound transformations. As a healthcare provider of the National Health Service, pharmacists are expanding their expertise in Public Health through disease prevention and health promotion programme. In relation to health education and health promotion interventions, this research was aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of a selected sample of private and public pharmacists, working in the Province of Perugia and Terni, Umbria region. Methods. Cross-sectional study conducted using two detection tools: a 29-items self-Administered, anonymous questionnaire and a 21-items environmental evaluation sheet, compiled by students of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Results. 70% of umbrian pharmacists participated in the project, 68.9% of them consider health education interventions "very important", 57% support the gratuity of these interventions with a 14.5 hours/week dedicated to these activities. Conclusions. The survey shows a good pharmacist sensitivity to the issues of health education. Actually, the pharmacist can and should play an essential role in responsibly involving all citizens in promoting new health behaviours in collaboration with physicians.