Abstract
Building the Community-Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP) is delivered by the Community Development and Health Network (CDHN) in partnership with the Department of Health (DoH). Over the last 22 years of the programme, £7 million of funding has been invested to over 1050 partnerships. 90% of the 526 pharmacies in Northern Ireland have participated in the programme.
The BCPP Programme brings communities and Community Pharmacy together to co-design and deliver locally-based projects to address social determinants and tackle health inequalities.
Reporting for the first time on our new evaluation framework, this abstract will reflect on the findings of our impact model and share insights and learnings from the programme. We have used the principles of co-design to develop the model from scratch, community and pharmacy partners and programme participants were key in this redevelopment, they helped identify outcomes, measures and the data collection tool design.
Our recently published impact report analyses data from 43 partnerships. It shows that 280 project participants have improved health and wellbeing, pharmacy partners are better able to fulfil their role as advocates for public health, community partners are better able to address health inequalities in their community and an increase in social capital.
Community Pharmacy are the ‘open door’ to the health service, their role in delivering primary care through educating and engaging with local communities is continually developing. BCPP facilitates them to deliver this role; build and develop relationships between pharmacy and community partners and engage creatively with those most at risk of experiencing poor health.
BCPP operates in rural and urban areas and targets communities in the 20% most deprived areas. Diverse projects involve different types of communities such as women’s groups, people who are homeless, victims of violence etc exploring issues like poverty, bereavement and social isolation. Through partnership working, group work is used as a method of engagement and contributes to the success of the programme. Building trust and developing relationships is integral to BCPP projects; partners engage with an intimate group of 12-15 individuals sharing open and honest conversations about the health issues they are experiencing in a safe environment.
The aim and focus of each project is different as they are responsive to local needs, however the BCPP delivery model is consistent. At application stage, groups must demonstrate how participants will be involved in the planning, design and implementation of the project. All projects are co-designed using the lived experience of participants; together they identify solutions to shared issues utilising local assets. Understanding the context and conditions of people’s lives enables partners to improve participants health literacy and offer support that is relevant and timely.
Next steps: We are exploring funding opportunities for further analysis of our impact data with a specific focus on sharing the learning of 20 years of multi-agency partnership working. The BCPP model could be used or adapted in other parts of the UK or internationally to build trusted community partnerships and infrastructure to improve health care access and social wellbeing for all.