Pharmacy Program in a BC First Nation: Perspectives of Patients, Clinicians, and Student Learners in a Rural and Remote Indigenous Context

Rural and remote Indigenous communities experience challenges with safe medication use, often exacerbated by limited transportation, shortages of healthcare providers, and gaps in culturally safe, patient-centered care. The BC First Nation community has identified a clear need and priority to action safe medication practices by improving access to clinical pharmacy services integrated with local traditional community knowledge systems.

This Summer Student Research Project aims to build, implement, and evaluate a new pharmacy program integrated with the home and community care of the local health centre of the BC First Nation. Services include medication management appointments, medication education, and diabetes and hypertension monitoring with a pharmacist and pharmacy student learners. The program is built on a phrase from the local BC First Nation, with a focus on relationships and a holistic understanding of both western and traditional medicines. The purpose of the evaluation was to examine patient and clinician perspectives on the program, and student learning experiences.