Survey on STI service quality of pharmacy at pilot sites in Sichuan and Yunnan

  Objective   Survey and assessment were conducted on the STD service quality of pharmacies at the pilot sites in Sichuan and Yunnan, so as to inform and advise on improvement of STD services and targeted interventions.

  Methods   Investigators pose as STD patients to visit the pharmacies randomly selected in 4 pilot sites of Sichuan and Yunnan in order to know pharmacy staff's diagnosis and treatment of STD symptoms.

  Results   According to the assessment indicators of WHO/GPA, proportion of patients receiving standard diagnosis and treatment(PI-6)is 2.2%;proportion of patietns receiving recommendation for condom use and partner notification(PI-7)is 8.7%;while the overall quality of services(PI-6+PI-7) is graded at 0, which indicats the low quality of STI services provided by the pharmacy staff.Only a minority of pharmacy staff would recomend patients to go to hospitals for examination(30.4%).

  Conclusion   Special emphasis should be placed on strengthening the management over STI services provided by pharmacies.Pharmacy staff should not only be able to recommend appropriate medications, but also be able to provide STD/AIDS prevention and referral services and guide patients to attend hospitals for examination and treatment in a timely fashion.Training on knowledge of STD/AIDS prevention and control should be also promoted among pharmacy staff so as to improve their ability to correctly explain treatment medications and strengthen their ability in providing prevention services(such as health education, counselling and condom promotion).Therefore, the quality of STI services provided by pharmacies can be improved constantly, and the health resources available for STD/AIDS prevention and control can be expanded.