Tobacco users' perceptions of a brief tobacco cessation intervention in community pharmacies.

OBJECTIVE: To explore factors affecting tobacco users' perceived appropriateness of a brief and proactive tobacco cessation counseling program, ask, advise, and refer (AAR), at community pharmacies.
DESIGN: Inductive thematic analysis.
SETTING: Southern Wisconsin during fall 2008. PATIENTS: 24 tobacco users who had recently received brief and proactive tobacco cessation counseling at a community pharmacy. INTERVENTION: Semistructured telephone interviews conducted by primary author. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perceptions of a brief and proactive tobacco cessation counseling program conducted at community pharmacies.
RESULTS: In conducting the thematic analysis, eight distinct themes were identified. Display of information and resources at pharmacies for use by tobacco users as needed was identified as the most predominant theme and was found to be most helpful by many respondents. Other themes identified in decreasing order of prevalence were: tobacco users' perceptions of the role of pharmacists in health care, tobacco users' belief that smoking could interact with a current medication or health condition, tobacco users' sensitivity toward their tobacco use behavior or being told what to do, nonconfrontational and friendly approach of pharmacists, tobacco users' readiness to quit at the time of AAR counseling, tobacco user initiation of tobacco use discussion, and tobacco users' belief that tobacco use is bad.
CONCLUSION: Overall, this qualitative investigation suggests that several factors might influence tobacco users' perceived appropriateness of AAR counseling at community pharmacies. AAR might be well received by tobacco users and pharmacy patrons as long as it is done in a professional and respectful manner.