Postgraduate research students

How can we better harness community pharmacies as a resource for sexual health and wellbeing within local communities?

As general practice and sexual health services continue to struggle following sustained underinvestment, community pharmacies are well-placed to support the sexual health and wellbeing of the local populations that they serve.  With long opening hours and wide geographical spread, they offer convenience and ease of access, particularly for those who find it difficult to access appointments or ae reluctant to visit traditional sexual healthcare settings (e.g. GPs, sexual health services).  In Scotland, recent national policies (e.g. the Scottish Governments Women's Health Plan) propose a greater role for community pharmacies in provision of routine sexual health services.  Working towards this goal requires an enhanced understanding of the role of community pharmacies within the wider system shaping sexual health and wellbeing. 

My PhD project aims to understand how community pharmacies can be envisaged and harnessed as a community-based resource for sexual health and wellbeing in Scotland. It will use participatory approaches and systems thinking to bring together local communities and key stakeholders (e.g. policy makers, pharmacists and people who deliver sexual health services in other settings) to collaboratively explore how community pharmacies can be re-imagined as a community asset for sexual health and wellbeing. 

Internal Supervisors:

Prof Kirstin Mitchell and Dr Ruth Lewis 

• Dr Ruth Lewis
• Professor Kirstin Mitchell

PhD funded by the MRC. 

Registered General Nurse (RGN) - over 20 years experience working as a nurse in the area of Sexual Health. 

QN (Queens Nurse)