Costa, CarolinaPires, DianaPereira, Olívia R.Pinto, Isabel C.2026-03-312026-03-312025Costa, Carolina; Pires, Diana; Pereira, Olívia R.; Pinto, Isabel C. ( 2025). Access to community pharmacies by rural populations in northeastern Portugal. In 13th APLF Annual Conference. Aveiro. ISSN 2042-0986. p. 69-702042-0986http://hdl.handle.net/10198/36429Background: Rural populations face significant challenges in accessing medicines and healthcare due to the increasing depopulation of rural areas and geographic isolation. Community pharmacies play a crucial role in rural areas, often serving as the first point of contact for healthcare (1,2,3). Objectives: This study aims to explore the accessibility of community pharmacies in rural areas, understand the satisfaction and identify challenges of these residents with this aspect. Methods: This is an observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study, with a non-probability convenience sample of 168 people living in two villages two villages in the municipality of Alfândega da Fé, Bragança District, in northeastern Portugal. An online and paper self-completion questionnaire was used, with 3 parts: sociodemographic, pharmacies accessibility and satisfaction with accessibility. Statistical analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel, based on the calculation of absolute and relative frequencies, measures of central tendency and dispersion. Results: The results showed that 42.3% (n=71) of the participants had stopped going to the pharmacy because of the challenges they faced, such as distance, the time needed to get to the pharmacy and the lack of transport. In addition, it was concluded that the majority of participants (78%; n=131) feel dissatisfied with the accessibility of community pharmacies. Conclusions: The results of this study reveal that the rural population is dissatisfied with access to community pharmacies and faces several difficulties and accessibility challenges. Policies must be created to facilitate access to community pharmacies for rural populations.engPharmacies accessibilityrural populationsaccessibility satisfactionconference object