Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019 - 187

Original Research
Program if they had at least 1 mental health medication-related issue and a self-identified mental
health diagnosis. Enrolment could be initiated by
referral (e.g., peer, health provider, self) or pharmacist invitation. Participant cap per pharmacy
was 20 at any one time. Pharmacists prioritized
patients with specific diagnoses for the program
(i.e., psychosis, mood disorders [depression and
bipolar disorder], anxiety disorders, obsessivecompulsive disorder and trauma- and stressrelated disorders). The aim was for the program to
enroll 70% or more participants with these higher
priority diagnoses based on unmet health needs,
common medication management issues and
the pharmacist's role in patient care. Pharmacists
and Bloom Program enrollees worked together
to determine the goals for the duration of a person's enrolment, which was 6 months by default
and could be extended when remediable new or
ongoing issues existed that were within the pharmacist's scope. During the initial stages of the
program's development, a mixed-methods evaluation framework was created with various sources
of data collection, including surveys, interviews
and a retrospective chart review. The outcomes
of interest in the Bloom Program evaluation
were both patient and process oriented. Clinical
outcomes data were reported by clinicians and
patients and were also systematically collected
from charts. More information on the Bloom
Program is available via Murphy et al.1 and the
Bloom Program website (www.bloomprogram
.ca). In this article, we report on the qualitative
findings from semistructured interviews conducted with Bloom Program patients.

Methods

Patients were made aware of the opportunity to
give feedback via interviews through the Bloom
Program pharmacies. This occurred primarily
through paper-based surveys that were distributed by these pharmacies or if patients took an
online survey via the Bloom Program website. In
the last section of the paper-based and online survey, there was a question as to whether the patient
would like to be contacted to participate in an
interview regarding the Bloom Program. Paper
surveys were submitted back to the Bloom Program administration via a self-addressed stamped
envelope. Participants were eligible for an interview if they had been or were actively enrolled in
the Bloom Program, aged 18 years or older, able
to converse in English and able to consent to the
C P J / R P C * M ay / J u n e 2 0 1 9 * V O L 1 5 2 , N O 3

KNowleDge INto PrActIce
* Patient expectations of pharmacists are often defined by previous
experiences in pharmacies, ranging from an engaged and proactive
clinician role to a more passive and technical role.
* the experiences shape patient expectations of pharmacy staff related
to mental health and addictions services and support.
* Patients experienced positive outcomes and valued bloom Program
pharmacy team services, many of which were not directly tied to
medication management and included activities such as navigation
and advocacy, collaboration, providing social support, education and
bridging gaps in services.
* Valued experiences that expand the patient's perspective of the
pharmacist's role are achieved through their direct participation in
pharmacy-based mental illness and addictions services.
* Patient expectations are increased for both medication and nonmedication-related services from participating the bloom Program.

interview. Participants were paid $40 to participate
in the interview. The Bloom Program administrator conducted the interviews, and all interviews
were transcribed verbatim by a transcriptionist.
We used thematic analysis to analyze the data
using a 6-step approach, as outlined by Braun and
Clarke.2 The data were analyzed by the team, with
LMJ leading the analysis and DMG and ALM providing iterative feedback and comments on interpretation and findings. See Appendix 1, available
at www.cpjournal.ca, for the interview guide.
Ethics
The Bloom Program was reviewed by the Dalhousie University Research Ethics Board and
determined to be program evaluation, thus not
requiring an ethics application. A consent procedure was conducted with all interviewees regarding
the purpose of the interview and data usage following. A privacy impact assessment was completed
and approved by the government of Nova Scotia in
accordance with provincial privacy legislation.

Results
Participants
Ten patients were interviewed between May
and June 2016, from 7 different Bloom Program
pharmacies; 3 pharmacies were not identified.
Themes
Ten themes were determined through data analysis, including medication management, accessing pharmacists in a new way, providing social
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Canadian Pharmacists Journal - May/June 2019

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