Challenges tourists faced in Turkish community pharmacies

Turkey is among the most visited countries in the world, attracting millions of international tourists from different countries every year. During their stay in Turkey, the tourists may face health issues that require pharmaceutical care. Community pharmacists are easily accessible healthcare providers and have an important role in meeting tourists' needs. However, international tourists' experiences in Turkish community pharmacies have not been sufficiently explored. So this study aimed to Identify the tourists' perceptions of barriers, challenges, and difficulties that they faced, their perceptions based on their experience about the quality of services, and to find out the tourists' suggestions to enhance the perceived quality of community pharmacy services Guided by the Penchansky and Thomas model of healthcare access which consist of five dimensions: availability, accessibility, affordability, accommodation, and acceptability. A qualitative method was used, including semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with 25 adult tourists from 19 countries who had experience and visited a community pharmacy during their stay in Turkey. Thematic analysis was conducted, and the identified themes and sub-themes were arranged within five dimensions of the healthcare access model. Findings revealed a range of challenges. Language barriers were the most significant. In addition to the availability of specific medicines, accessibility to pharmacies after standard working hours and on Sundays, the pricing of medicines, and perceptions of quality of pharmacy services related to their satisfaction level, Role of the community pharmacists, pharmacists' empathy, communication skills, and professional support, Trust and Reliability in pharmacists. The study findings highlight the need for enhanced language support, culturally competent pharmacy practices, and improved informational accessibility to pharmacy services and emphasize the requirement for pharmacy orientation to unify efforts with stakeholders, thereby improving the experiences of international visitors by delivering high-quality services in pharmacies that impact the overall experience in Turkey. Key words: International tourists, Community pharmacies, Healthcare access, Pharmaceutical care