Pharmacy

  Health Promotion

Pharmacists are in a unique position in the community to empower people to take care of their own health, while they are still well (as well as when they are not) and to support positive choices in lifestyle changes.
Nelson Bays Primary Health would like to support health promotion in the community by pharmacies by making Ministry of Health resources more readily available to pharmacies and the public. If you would like to order some MoH leaflets, free of charge, please complete the attached Pharmacy Health Promotion Resources order.
If you need some funding for specific resources to support a particular campaign, please let me know.

A calendar of health promotion events for the year is available www.bewell.org.nz/resources

You might like to link your pharmacy health promotions to national campaigns, or look for ideas there, as there are lots of websites for ideas and resources listed.

 Health Promotion ideas:

Healthy Lifestyle choices for New Year resolutions:

• Link to community groups e.g. Way2Go start a walk from your pharmacy / Lunch-time walks for staff to participate
• Compete with other pharmacy teams for Bike Wise Month - Use cycle routes locally
• Offer weight monitoring, produce weight loss charts. Promote healthy eating choices, diet switches, recipe leaflets
• Promote healthy levels of alcohol consumption - demonstrate drink measure sizes (with water not alcohol)
• Have flyers for Quit Line/Smokestop NRT
• Calculate and show financial equivalents to smoking 20 a day for a month/year/10years (e.g. 20 a day = $1800 a year or a new flat screen TV)
• Rent spirometer/Carbon monoxide monitors - Test smokers and monitor levels and their progress

 Autumn:

• Promote free flu jabs at practices for eligible patients
• Assess asthma inhaler technique
• Refer eligible patients to practices for Diabetic Get Checked free annual review
• Hold a Podiatrist clinic in the pharmacy consultation room for Diabetic patients
• Offer mini health checks: blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels
• Offer cholesterol level monitoring for patients using nitrate sprays - BPAC recommendation

 Spring Clean:

• Promote safe use of medicines - Medicines Use Reviews
• Free medicine measures for paracetamol doses
• Promote safe storage of medicines in the home
• Promote returning unwanted medicines to pharmacies for safe disposal

Another useful resource is the Found Directory www.found.org.nz which is a searchable online directory and a printable resource of community groups and organisations across the top of the South which may be of interest to you and your customers to contact to support their lifestyle choices.

Nelson Bays Primary Health would like to encourage pharmacies to support the health promotion campaigns that interest them and meet the needs of the people in their local community. Health promotion will create opportunities for enterprising pharmacists to increase the services provided by their pharmacy, which in turn may generate more income, new sales and add customer value.