Pharmacies help spread health messages

Pharmacies across the region have joined forces with Wairarapa District Health Board to drive home crucial health messages.
Eight Wairarapa pharmacies have agreed to display posters and brochures supplied by the DHB to highlight events on the healthcare calendar such as vaccination programmes against cervical cancer, seasonal influenza and currently, supporting people to become smokefree around World Smokefree Day.
"The aim is to create awareness within our community," Public Health health promoter Anna Stuart said.
"For many people, the pharmacy is their first port of call for a range of health issues so giving them information from that point makes sense."
She provides the pharmacies with a range of resources such as posters, brochures and other give-away and display materials related to two different health topics, every three months.
"The feedback we've had from the pharmacies so far has been really good," she said.
"It seems that the displays have got people talking and that's a great start.
"We recently had some window displays related to different types of skin infections and the pharmacies told us that there had been plenty of people coming in off the street asking for information, advice and products as a result of seeing the window display."
Belinda Baird, pharmacist at Duncans Pharmacy in Kuripuni, said the displays acted as "openers" for people who want to discuss health issues.
"It's given us a much more united approach to these basic health messages," she said. "Being aware of what the health board is doing at the same time means that we can co-ordinate our messages and that's more effective than everyone doing their own thing. For World Smokefree Day, we've had the window displays, plus resources to help people who are thinking about quitting and we've handed out quit books when dispensing nicotine replacement therapies.
"It's still providing information, but it's just more targeted. We have things like stickers to give to kids that remind them about the importance of washing their hands, especially when they're infectious. So some of it is fun stuff, but it's educational too and it really supports what we are trying to do, which is support our community's health."