The Positive Pharmacy Care Law revisited: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanicity and deprivation in England
Objectives (1) Determine geographical access to community pharmacy in England, (2) explore the relationship between community pharmacy access and urbanity and multiple deprivation and (3) understand any changes in access over time.Design An area-level spatial analysis study exploring the relationshi...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-05-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/5/e095540.full |
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| author | Clare Bambra Adam Todd Luke Aaron Munford Adetayo Kasim Alison Copeland Andy Husband Eman Zied Abozied |
| author_facet | Clare Bambra Adam Todd Luke Aaron Munford Adetayo Kasim Alison Copeland Andy Husband Eman Zied Abozied |
| author_sort | Clare Bambra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives (1) Determine geographical access to community pharmacy in England, (2) explore the relationship between community pharmacy access and urbanity and multiple deprivation and (3) understand any changes in access over time.Design An area-level spatial analysis study exploring the relationship between spatial access to and availability of community pharmacies over the past 10 years from 2014 to 2023, deprivation and urbanicity, using Geographic Information System and descriptive statistics on a Middle layer Super Output Area level.Primary outcome measure Availability per 10 000 people of a community pharmacy in their local area.Results For geographical access, in 2014, 91.3% of people lived within a 20-minute walk to a community pharmacy and, in 2023, this number increased to 91.7%. There was a positive relationship between geographical community pharmacy access and urbanity and geographical community pharmacy access and deprivation. For availability, the median number of community pharmacies per 10 000 people in 2014 was 1.60, while in 2023, the number reduced to 1.51 community pharmacies per 10 000 people. The most deprived areas were more likely to lose a pharmacy, compared with the least deprived areas (OR 1.65 (1.38, 1.98)).Conclusions There is high access to community pharmacies in England with access to a community pharmacy greatest in the most deprived areas, showing that the ‘positive pharmacy care law’ remains. However, the ‘positive pharmacy care law’ is eroding as the availability of community pharmacies has reduced over time—particularly in deprived areas, with more people reliant on each community pharmacy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-81ef208ab94741a49a4da3ffd195a111 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
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| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-81ef208ab94741a49a4da3ffd195a1112025-08-20T03:53:12ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-05-0115510.1136/bmjopen-2024-095540The Positive Pharmacy Care Law revisited: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanicity and deprivation in EnglandClare Bambra0Adam Todd1Luke Aaron Munford2Adetayo Kasim3Alison Copeland4Andy Husband5Eman Zied Abozied6Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKSchool of Pharmacy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKDivision of Population Health, Health Services Research and Primary Care, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UKNewcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKNewcastle University School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKSchool of Pharmacy, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKObjectives (1) Determine geographical access to community pharmacy in England, (2) explore the relationship between community pharmacy access and urbanity and multiple deprivation and (3) understand any changes in access over time.Design An area-level spatial analysis study exploring the relationship between spatial access to and availability of community pharmacies over the past 10 years from 2014 to 2023, deprivation and urbanicity, using Geographic Information System and descriptive statistics on a Middle layer Super Output Area level.Primary outcome measure Availability per 10 000 people of a community pharmacy in their local area.Results For geographical access, in 2014, 91.3% of people lived within a 20-minute walk to a community pharmacy and, in 2023, this number increased to 91.7%. There was a positive relationship between geographical community pharmacy access and urbanity and geographical community pharmacy access and deprivation. For availability, the median number of community pharmacies per 10 000 people in 2014 was 1.60, while in 2023, the number reduced to 1.51 community pharmacies per 10 000 people. The most deprived areas were more likely to lose a pharmacy, compared with the least deprived areas (OR 1.65 (1.38, 1.98)).Conclusions There is high access to community pharmacies in England with access to a community pharmacy greatest in the most deprived areas, showing that the ‘positive pharmacy care law’ remains. However, the ‘positive pharmacy care law’ is eroding as the availability of community pharmacies has reduced over time—particularly in deprived areas, with more people reliant on each community pharmacy.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/5/e095540.full |
| spellingShingle | Clare Bambra Adam Todd Luke Aaron Munford Adetayo Kasim Alison Copeland Andy Husband Eman Zied Abozied The Positive Pharmacy Care Law revisited: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanicity and deprivation in England BMJ Open |
| title | The Positive Pharmacy Care Law revisited: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanicity and deprivation in England |
| title_full | The Positive Pharmacy Care Law revisited: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanicity and deprivation in England |
| title_fullStr | The Positive Pharmacy Care Law revisited: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanicity and deprivation in England |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Positive Pharmacy Care Law revisited: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanicity and deprivation in England |
| title_short | The Positive Pharmacy Care Law revisited: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanicity and deprivation in England |
| title_sort | positive pharmacy care law revisited an area level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution urbanicity and deprivation in england |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/5/e095540.full |
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