TY - JOUR

T1 - Stakeholders' perspectives and use of web-based knowledge support for environmental information on pharmaceuticals

AU - Linder, Elkanah

AU - Villén, Johanna

AU - Nekoro, Marmar

AU - Wettermark, Björn

AU - Sporrong, Sofia Kälvemark

N1 - Funding Information: The first author gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Fulbright U.S Student Program sponsored by the U.S Department of State and the Swedish Fulbright Commission . The Fulbright Program had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, writing of the report or decision to submit the article for publication. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the Government of the United States, or the Swedish Fulbright Commission. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Background: Pharmaceuticals treat and prevent diseases but can pose a risk to organisms, predominantly in aquatic environments. The use of pharmaceuticals is predicted to increase due to, among other factors, a growing and aging population and climate change. Therefore, it is important to develop mitigation strategies to prevent pharmaceutical residues from entering the environment. In Sweden, two public pharmaceutical web-based knowledge supports provide information on the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals. Objective: To explore stakeholder perspectives, use and future opportunities related to two webbased knowledge supports publicizing environmental information on pharmaceuticals. Methods: Stakeholders identified for their experience with the knowledge supports, pharmaceutical policy, and stakeholder collaboration were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling for semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted in person or via video calls. Respondents included twenty-one representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, regional and national authorities, academia, and an independent research institute. Interview transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Results: Respondents valued having environmental information on pharmaceuticals publicly accessible on two well-known pharmaceutical knowledge supports. The knowledge supports have been used in Sweden and internationally. Perceived differences were recognized between the impact and perspectives of the two knowledge supports with a general preference for the Janusinfo knowledge support. The preference was especially identified regarding transparency and the use of the information in clinical practice. Barriers to impact were a lack of resources and decision-making criteria. Respondents believed that the impact and value of the knowledge supports could be improved with more authority involvement. Conclusion: Public knowledge support providing environmental information on pharmaceuticals has been valuable across sectors, especially, among Drug and Therapeutics Committees. We believe the results from this study could be useful for other countries interested in implementing a similar system.

AB - Background: Pharmaceuticals treat and prevent diseases but can pose a risk to organisms, predominantly in aquatic environments. The use of pharmaceuticals is predicted to increase due to, among other factors, a growing and aging population and climate change. Therefore, it is important to develop mitigation strategies to prevent pharmaceutical residues from entering the environment. In Sweden, two public pharmaceutical web-based knowledge supports provide information on the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals. Objective: To explore stakeholder perspectives, use and future opportunities related to two webbased knowledge supports publicizing environmental information on pharmaceuticals. Methods: Stakeholders identified for their experience with the knowledge supports, pharmaceutical policy, and stakeholder collaboration were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling for semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted in person or via video calls. Respondents included twenty-one representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, regional and national authorities, academia, and an independent research institute. Interview transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Results: Respondents valued having environmental information on pharmaceuticals publicly accessible on two well-known pharmaceutical knowledge supports. The knowledge supports have been used in Sweden and internationally. Perceived differences were recognized between the impact and perspectives of the two knowledge supports with a general preference for the Janusinfo knowledge support. The preference was especially identified regarding transparency and the use of the information in clinical practice. Barriers to impact were a lack of resources and decision-making criteria. Respondents believed that the impact and value of the knowledge supports could be improved with more authority involvement. Conclusion: Public knowledge support providing environmental information on pharmaceuticals has been valuable across sectors, especially, among Drug and Therapeutics Committees. We believe the results from this study could be useful for other countries interested in implementing a similar system.

KW - Environment

KW - Pharmaceuticals

KW - Qualitative study

KW - Sweden

U2 - 10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100303

DO - 10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100303

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37529031

AN - SCOPUS:85165032388

VL - 11

JO - Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy

JF - Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy

SN - 2667-2766

M1 - 100303

ER -