Drug experts of the future, today?—Depiction of the pharmacist profession in Swedish professional and lay print media

BackgroundThe Swedish pharmacy market is presently being reregulated. The state-owned pharmacy monopoly company was divided and sold during 2009, and certain nonprescription medicines are now allowed in nonpharmacy settings. The changes will likely affect the pharmacist’s role and the image of the community pharmacist in society. This change may affect how pharmacists are seen by society at large, and therefore, a baseline showing how pharmacists are depicted before the reregulation is of great value.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to describe how the pharmacist profession is depicted in print media in Sweden, with a focus on community pharmacy.MethodsA deductive qualitative content analysis with material from print media was conducted, using professional criteria as a framework. Swedish print media from October 2005 to October 2008 were searched and all relevant articles included.ResultsA total of 139 articles were included. Most articles came from professional journals, that is, journals directed toward pharmacist or related professions. The results show that the pharmacist profession is not highly visible and that this lack of visibility is disappointing to pharmacists.ConclusionsSociety, as reflected in print media, does not display an awareness of the pharmacist role in Sweden. Although this is disappointing for the profession, it allows pharmacists to influence the depiction and hence their position in society.