This month is Stress Awareness Month, a yearly event sponsored by The Health Resource Network (HRN), a non-profit health education organization. Every April, health care professionals across the nation promote, educate and increase awareness about stress and its harmful effects.
Whether it’s job burnout or a hectic personal schedule, everyone is affected by stress at some point in time. And stress can have serious negative health consequences. Stress is the basic cause of 60 percent of all human illness and disease, according to statistics from The American Institute of Stress (AIS).
If your pharmacy isn’t already raising awareness about the harms of stress, and ways to combat it, now’s the perfect time to start. Use these four tips to help patients reduce stress.
1. Promote stress relief with an end cap
One way to build awareness for stress, while increasing front-end sales, is to stock stress relief inventory.
In the April 2017 edition of Profit Makers, an email with front-end tips for pharmacies, Gabe Trahan, senior director of store operations and marketing at the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) recommended that pharmacists, “create an end cap of stress relief items available in your pharmacy, such as aromatherapy, candles, stress balls, bath salts, shower gels, teas, massage oils, vitamins, etc. Make sure your display is well-signed and well-stocked.”
You can also find ideas, resources, and downloadable promotional materials on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) website.
Not only will a stress relief end cap make your pharmacy’s front end unique, you’ll also help patients manage their stress.
RELATED: How to Conquer Stress in Your Independent Pharmacy
2. Hold a de-stress event
Promote Stress Awareness Month by holding an event specifically for relieving stress. During your event, provide educational information to patients interested in living stress-free lives, and encourage preventative mental health care by offering discounted health screenings or patient counseling services. You could also hire a masseuse to give free chair massages, or offer a free meditation class.
3. Counsel patients with stress
You already advise patients on their medication regimens, why not offer counseling services for their mental health as well?
For patients with anxiety or tension-filled lives, be able to give expert advice about how they can reduce stress with everyday habits. For example, give them tips to live overall healthier lifestyles, which can help reduce their stress levels.
4. Encourage a stress-free workplace
Patients will likely notice if your pharmacy is a stress-filled workplace.
Combat stress in the workplace by encouraging physical activity during break times, fostering a positive work environment or creating a workplace health program to help employees stay healthy and stress-free.
Along with promoting a stress-free life, encourage your patients to adopt healthy eating habits by promoting nutrition and diet at your pharmacy.
