Youth-Friendly Pharmacy Initiative Gaining National Recognition
The Youth-Friendly Pharmacy Initiative (YFPI) has received overwhelmingly positive responses from members of the pharmacy community, youth, youth-serving organizations, foundations and reproductive rights and justice advocates since initiating its first live trainings in May 2009.
To date, more than 110 pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy store managers have completed the YFPI training to enhance their capacity in attracting, serving and retaining youth clients.
The positive feedback and interest received underscores the importance of making pharmacies more accessible to youth clients, as well as the importance of reducing barriers young people experience in accessing sexual and reproductive health information, resources and services.
The YFPI has recently been featured in various publications, websites, blogs and conferences, including:
Grantee Magazine, Fall edition of The California Wellness Foundation’s quarterly magazine
Contraceptive Technology Update, A Monthly Update on Contraception and Sexually Transmitted Disease
TeenSource.org, an educational website on healthy and responsible sexual lifestyles for teens and young adults
AllBusiness.com
The California Wellness Foundation’s website
2009 teenNow California Conference and
2008 California Adolescent Health Collaborative Conference
The YFPI continues to advance its goal of expanding youth access to sexual and reproductive health services in pharmacy settings. Pharmacists are enthusiastic about this training opportunity. A Bay Area training participant said, “Definitely making this training available to pharmacists is educational and practical. Addressing the needs of youth is important, and should not be ignored.”
Through collaborations with the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) and Walgreens Pharmacies, YFPI extended its reach to community pharmacies and Kaiser Pharmacies throughout the Bay Area, San Diego and Stockton. In San Diego, nearly 50 people attended the training!
Another component of the YFPI is the community partnerships formed with local, youth-serving and youth-led organizations. One such partnership is with this year’s Female Leadership Academy class at ACT for Women and Girls (Advocacy Coalition of Tulare County for Women and Girls). These young women will lead a community initiative to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services and products in pharmacies throughout Tulare County. Over the next year, we are also partnering with UCSD School of Pharmacy students.
In spring 2010, we plan to collaborate with Advocates for Youth to bring this live pharmacist training and community-involvement initiative to New Jersey. Additionally, we anticipate a spring 2010 launch of the online YFPI continuing-education training for pharmacists nationally.
Learn more about the Youth Friendly Pharmacy Initiative and it various components, such as the video and factsheet.
For more information about the Youth Friendly Pharmacy Initiative including training participation or opportunities for collaboration, please contact Nicole Monastersky Maderas, MPH at nmaderas@piwh.org.