Research Update: Barriers to Over-the-Counter Prescription Services for Indigenous People
In July 2020, the Coastal Research, Education, and Advocacy Network (CREAN) launched a research project and campaign on Indigenous Health called Barriers to Over-the-Counter Prescription Services for Indigenous Peoples. The objective of the research project is to improve health services for Indigenous peoples and to remove the various procedural barriers associated with getting over-the-counter (OTC) prescriptions.
CREAN is an independent non-profit community-research organization. While our work is funded by federal, provincial grants, and private donors, our funders have no control over the research we publish or the activities we pursue as an organization. Rather, our work, research, and advocacy responds to the needs brought to our attention by our stakeholders and community members. We research and advocate based on community input and needs.
It is in this context that Indigenous community-members have brought to our attention that they face barriers when trying to acquire OTC prescriptions. We have consulted with pharmaceutical professionals in Victoria who have echoed the accounts of Indigenous people and provided in depth information about the procedural complexities Indigenous people must navigate before and during the process of getting OTC prescriptions. This is a problem. Indeed, Indigenous peoples face higher rates of chronic illnesses requiring lifetime medications than the general Canadian population. Historically, Indigenous peoples have been underserved and negatively impacted by various intersecting elements associated with colonization. While the research topic aims to better health outcomes for Indigenous people, we have chosen to focus our research specifically on their access to getting OTC prescriptions.
On October 5th 2020, the project received Ethics approval from the Community Research Ethics Office (CREO). CREO aims to support community research in line with the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethic Conduct for Research involving Humans (TCPS 2, 2019). Their four guiding principles are: Respect for Persons, Concern for Welfare, Concern for Justice, and Respect for Community. More details about CREO may be found on their website http://www.communityresearchethics.com
Now that the Literature Reviews are finalized and we have received Ethics approval, the research team is ready to launch surveys and to conduct focus-groups and pharmacists interviews. Please note that the Ethics application, survey, focus groups, and interview questions have been reviewed and formulated in collaboration with the input of CREAN’s Indigenous Advisory Committee members. We have launched the online survey on SurveyMonkey please complete the survey via this link.
Thank you for your continued support and participation. For further information please visit our website www.creansociety.org or contact us via email at audrey@creansociety.org