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Global Health Econ Sustain Assessing chronic community health needs

decreased quality of life (Basu et al., 2019). This quality hardships compounded by the global impact of COVID-19,
improvement project aims to help restore and rebuild a the Riverton school district had to curtail expenditures,
health-care structure within this underserved Jamaican including the role of a part-time school nurse. For the past
community, fostering health promotion and improved 2 years, the oversight of the school pharmacy has been
well-being among its members. undertaken by three teachers within the school district
who are unlicensed medical personnel. The distribution
2. Materials and methods of medical supplies in this study is impacted by limited
The authors had previously been invited into the community operating hours — 3 – 5 h a week — and the distribution
on several occasions, initially focusing on projects aimed of supplies by unlicensed medical providers.
at physically improving housing structures. However, on 3. Results
the trip just before this study, the team was tasked with
addressing the pharmacy attached to the school due to the Table 1 illustrates the pharmacy products that were
presence of nursing faculty and students in the community. donated and the corresponding usage rates during the first
The local community liaison compiled a list of needs for the 3 months (March 15, 2022 – June 15, 2022) following the
community, supplementing the supplies and medications restocking of the pharmacy, as reported by the headmaster
identified by nursing faculty during her 2020 walking/ of the school where the pharmacy is located.
windshield tour. Fundraising efforts were carried out in The results reveal robust usage of the products
the United States before travel, and over USD500.00 worth during the first 3 months after restocking the pharmacy.
of donated OTC supplies were brought into the Riverton Among the categories, personal care items and children’s
pharmacy in March 2022. At the time, the shelves were nearly medications and supplies exhibited the highest rates of
empty, housing only a couple of outdated bottles of aspirin. usage, while wound care demonstrated the lowest. The
During a prior visit, the authors had conducted a community unexpectedly low rate of use for wound care products
needs assessment. The identified community needs were key raised questions, considering the study site was organically
drivers for purchasing pharmacy supplies for the next visit. constructed on top of the city dump and is littered with
The donated OTC products were divided into six broken glass and rusty pieces of metal. In addition, during
categories: Analgesics (pain pills, pain patches, aspirin, the team’s visit to set up the pharmacy, they provided care
pain cream, and hemorrhoid cream), personal care items to a number of individuals with wound care needs. This
(toothbrushes, toothpaste, panty liners/pads, adult pads/ prompts speculation that the infrequent use of wound kits
diapers, petroleum jelly, hand sanitizer, and nail clippers), might be attributed to a lack of familiarity with their proper
orthopedics (knee braces, wrist braces, ankle braces, and ice use by community members. Another possible reason for
packs), wound care (antibiotic cream, alcohol pads, band- the modest supply usage could be that the community
aids, wound care kits, hydrogen peroxide, and tweezers), members were unaware of the recent replenishment of
OTC medications (probiotics, women’s vitamins, anti-itch products. In addition, the cautious distribution of supplies
cream, allergy pills, nasal spray, antacids, anti-diarrheal by the school principal, who has experienced shortages in
pills, diabetic foot cream, eye drops, chest rub, and calamine the past, could be a contributing factor. Overall usage rates
lotion), and children’s medications and supplies (children’s were high, reflecting a general need for pharmacy products
pain medications, children’s allergy medication, baby and preventive health-care services within the community.
wipes, electrolyte replacement, and gummy vitamins). No Although the study only tracked usage of pharmacy
antibiotics, prescription drugs, or controlled medications products over a 3-month period, continued communication
were transported or brought into the community despite with the principal indicated that all donated products
the request of Mr. Rowe, the Riverton school principal. were used within a span of 5 months. These findings
This decision was based on the considerations concerning further support the main premise of this study: Isolated
licensing and prescribing regulations. communities with limited access to medical supplies still
Funding for both the school and the attached pharmacy grapple with unaddressed needs for their chronic health
is provided by St. Patrick’s Foundation. The yearly operating conditions. Furthermore, once community members
budget for the school amounts to 11 million Jamaican become aware of newly donated supplies, there is an
dollars, approximately USD 72,000/year. This allocation increase in the consumption of pharmacy products.
covers expenses such as school supplies, teacher salaries,
and day-to-day operational costs (Junior Rowe, personal 4. Discussion
communication [October 13, 2022]). The school pharmacy The Riverton community, like many others worldwide,
relies solely on donations for its funding. Due to financial faces geographical and economic isolation. Poor health-

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1030