Objectives: To provide a summary of the available literature on pharmacists' participation in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention efforts, excluding needle exchange programs or highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) education, and to offer strategies based on the literature to expand pharmacists' roles in HIV/AIDS prevention efforts.
Data sources: Data were collected from published reports indexed from database inception through December 2008 and identified through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Prevention Research Synthesis database, Ovid, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Search terms used were pharmacist or pharmacy and HIV and/or prevention or counseling or testing or screening.
Study selection: Only English language reports were included; studies that focused on needle/syringe exchange programs and HAART therapy education and adherence counseling were excluded.
Data synthesis: 13 reports were identified. The majority of articles were from international sources, and all focused on pharmacists and pharmacies as HIV/AIDS information resources.
Conclusion: Findings from the available literature showed that most pharmacists served in treatment and prevention information resource roles but were interested in expanding their roles into other prevention efforts, including HIV testing with additional training. Pharmacists described in the reports expressed a need for specific training regarding HIV/AIDS knowledge and transmission.