• Program Overview
  • English
  • Bilingual (English/Spanish)

• Display Materials
  • English
  • Bilingual (English/Spanish)

Program Overview (English)

Drug stores are “the part of the health care system that people interact with the most. So if you’re trying to get information to health care consumers, pharmacies are the place to do it.” – Larry Levitt, Vice President, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Pharmacy Access Partnership worked with chain and independent pharmacies to create consumer oriented family planning centers in the retail pharmacy setting. With direct pharmacy access to emergency contraception (EC) in California, there are increased opportunities for pharmacies to a play stronger role in family planning, to promote sexual health and well being, and to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Consumer awareness of the family planning category is limited as products are not actively promoted and educational materials are not widely provided or accessible. In some pharmacy stores over-the-counter (OTC) contraceptive supplies are often difficult to locate as they are many times placed in a “feminine hygiene” aisle.

By prominently grouping OTC contraceptive supplies with educational materials in one location, pharmacies not only have the opportunity to better meet consumer needs and to play a more active role in community education and health promotion, but to also increase sales and capitalize on margins in this category.

Objectives

• Better retail promotion of OTC contraceptive products, like condoms
  • Help make family planning products easier to find in a crowded store.
  • Reinforce the consumer’s decision to seek and/or to purchase family planning products.
• Promote consumer education
  • Increase educational opportunities around birth control methods, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, and promotion of general health issues.
• Increase public awareness of services offered by pharmacists
  • Promote the availability of EC at participating pharmacies.
  • Promote the role of pharmacists as professionals who can help answer questions.

Strategies and Tactics

In creating new consumer awareness and attitudes with respect to the family planning category, our primary strategy is to promote the section and items just as a store would promote other leader categories (naturally taking into consideration consumer and store sensitivity to sexual health topics).

FREE display materials including posters, shelf talkers, bag stuffers with coupons, buttons and educational brochures will be provided to participating pharmacies.

The use of point of sale materials is not revolutionary. The more active and open approach to in-store promotion in the family planning category however, is a new direction for most pharmacy retailers.

Measuring Success

Pharmacy Access Partnership is interested in evaluating the potential success of implementing this strategy in retail pharmacies. Measurements of success include:

• Increase in sales: participating pharmacies will be asked to share actual sales of products in this section for a defined period of time pre and post implementation of this promotional program.
• Consumer uptake of program educational materials: monitoring of material replenishment.
• Consumer and store satisfaction with overall program: brief surveys of pharmacy personnel will assess whether customers are talking about the section, asking questions about the products, are more aware of pharmacy based clinical services.

To participate in this program or for more information, please contact info@pharmacyaccess.org .

 

Program Overview Bilingual (English/Spanish)

Meeting the Needs of Your Latino Clients – Increasing Family Planning Promotional and Educational Opportunities in Your Pharmacy

Why focus on better serving the Latino community?

More than forty million Latinos currently live in the U.S., representing a 58% increase from 1990-2000. Latinas account for 13% of all women in the U.S. and by 2050, one in four women in the U.S. will be Latina, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This growing trend is even more striking in California where the Latino population is increasing more rapidly than any other ethnic or racial group. Approximately a third of the current female population in the state is Latina.

Pharmacies are frequently the primary access point for healthcare services and supplies, especially for Latinos. As the number of Latina pharmacy clients continues to rise, and nine million Latinas in this country are of reproductive age, a significant opportunity exists to promote sexual health services and products in the pharmacy. The need to provide culturally and linguistically competent promotional and educational materials in Spanish in the pharmacy continues to be increasingly important.

How can your pharmacy be a leader and make a difference?

Currently, consumer awareness of the family planning category is limited as products are not actively promoted and educational materials are not widely provided or accessible. In fact, without prominent signage, OTC contraceptive products are often difficult to locate and are frequently placed in the “feminine hygiene” aisle. By prominently grouping OTC contraceptive supplies with educational materials in one location, your pharmacy can better meet the needs of consumers and play a more active role in community health education while also increasing sales and capitalizing on margins gained in this category.

What does Pharmacy Access Partnership offer?

Pharmacy Access Partnership offers bilingual family planning educational and promotional materials, including shelf talkers, educational brochures and buttons. These materials help to improve awareness and access to reproductive health services and products — especially for Latinos. These materials have been specially designed to fit and appeal to consumers in the retail pharmacy environment and were repeatedly requested after successful implementation of English-only materials. In creating new consumer awareness and attitudes about the family planning category, we provide opportunities to promote the section and items just as a store would promote other leader categories and also increase public awareness of family planning services and products available from the pharmacy and pharmacist.

We recognize the importance of materials fitting in with your store look and feel and welcome the opportunity to customize materials to meet your company’s branding requirements.