Conscientious objection – a cross-sectional, vignette-based, mixed methods exploration of Australian pharmacists’ perspectives
ABSTRACTBackground: Conscientious objection (CO) in healthcare is a controversial topic. Some perceive CO as freedom of conscience, others believe their professional duty-of-care overrides personal-perspectives. There is a paucity of literature pertaining to pharmacists’ perspectives on CO.Aim: To e...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20523211.2024.2323086 |
| _version_ | 1797229905690230784 |
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| author | Sami Isaac Ardalan Mirzaei Andrew J. McLachlan Betty B. Chaar |
| author_facet | Sami Isaac Ardalan Mirzaei Andrew J. McLachlan Betty B. Chaar |
| author_sort | Sami Isaac |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACTBackground: Conscientious objection (CO) in healthcare is a controversial topic. Some perceive CO as freedom of conscience, others believe their professional duty-of-care overrides personal-perspectives. There is a paucity of literature pertaining to pharmacists’ perspectives on CO.Aim: To explore Australian pharmacists’ decision-making in complex scenarios around CO and reasons for their choices.Method: A cross-sectional, qualitative questionnaire of pharmacists’ perspectives on CO. Vignette-based questions were about scenarios related to medical termination, emergency contraception, IVF surrogacy for a same-sex couple and Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD)Results: Approximately half of participants (n = 223) believed pharmacists have the right to CO and most agreed to supply prescriptions across all vignettes. However, those who chose not to supply (n = 20.9%), believed it justifiable, even at the risk of patients failing to access treatment. Strong self-reported religiosity had a statistically significant relationship with decisions not to supply for 3 of 4 vignettes. Three emergent themes included: ethical considerations, the role of the pharmacist and training and guidance.Conclusion: This exploratory study revealed perspectives of Australian pharmacists about a lack of guidance around CO in pharmacy. Findings highlighted the need for future research to investigate and develop further training and professional frameworks articulating steps to guide pharmacists around CO. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T15:20:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-276a070c4beb4191b7a8c39999db59e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2052-3211 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T15:20:01Z |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-276a070c4beb4191b7a8c39999db59e02024-04-02T08:11:39ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice2052-32112024-12-0117110.1080/20523211.2024.2323086Conscientious objection – a cross-sectional, vignette-based, mixed methods exploration of Australian pharmacists’ perspectivesSami Isaac0Ardalan Mirzaei1Andrew J. McLachlan2Betty B. Chaar3Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaSydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaSydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaSydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaABSTRACTBackground: Conscientious objection (CO) in healthcare is a controversial topic. Some perceive CO as freedom of conscience, others believe their professional duty-of-care overrides personal-perspectives. There is a paucity of literature pertaining to pharmacists’ perspectives on CO.Aim: To explore Australian pharmacists’ decision-making in complex scenarios around CO and reasons for their choices.Method: A cross-sectional, qualitative questionnaire of pharmacists’ perspectives on CO. Vignette-based questions were about scenarios related to medical termination, emergency contraception, IVF surrogacy for a same-sex couple and Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD)Results: Approximately half of participants (n = 223) believed pharmacists have the right to CO and most agreed to supply prescriptions across all vignettes. However, those who chose not to supply (n = 20.9%), believed it justifiable, even at the risk of patients failing to access treatment. Strong self-reported religiosity had a statistically significant relationship with decisions not to supply for 3 of 4 vignettes. Three emergent themes included: ethical considerations, the role of the pharmacist and training and guidance.Conclusion: This exploratory study revealed perspectives of Australian pharmacists about a lack of guidance around CO in pharmacy. Findings highlighted the need for future research to investigate and develop further training and professional frameworks articulating steps to guide pharmacists around CO.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20523211.2024.2323086Conscientious objection (CO)pharmacyequityaccess to medicinesethical considerationsreligion |
| spellingShingle | Sami Isaac Ardalan Mirzaei Andrew J. McLachlan Betty B. Chaar Conscientious objection – a cross-sectional, vignette-based, mixed methods exploration of Australian pharmacists’ perspectives Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Conscientious objection (CO) pharmacy equity access to medicines ethical considerations religion |
| title | Conscientious objection – a cross-sectional, vignette-based, mixed methods exploration of Australian pharmacists’ perspectives |
| title_full | Conscientious objection – a cross-sectional, vignette-based, mixed methods exploration of Australian pharmacists’ perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Conscientious objection – a cross-sectional, vignette-based, mixed methods exploration of Australian pharmacists’ perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conscientious objection – a cross-sectional, vignette-based, mixed methods exploration of Australian pharmacists’ perspectives |
| title_short | Conscientious objection – a cross-sectional, vignette-based, mixed methods exploration of Australian pharmacists’ perspectives |
| title_sort | conscientious objection a cross sectional vignette based mixed methods exploration of australian pharmacists perspectives |
| topic | Conscientious objection (CO) pharmacy equity access to medicines ethical considerations religion |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20523211.2024.2323086 |
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