Best practices for conducting and writing mixed methods research in social pharmacy

Identifying public health competencies for Australian pharmacists: A modified Delphi study

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to define a set of competencies for public health-related services and activities for pharmacists in Australia.

METHODS

A modified Delphi technique of two rounds was used to gain consensus by public health and pharmacy professionals on a set of public health competency statements for Australian pharmacists.

RESULTS

Delphi panellists agreed on the inclusion of 27 competency statements organised into three domains of health promotion and illness prevention, health protection and population health quality improvement. Competency statements concerning evaluation of services and reflective practice were revised to achieve agreement in the second Delphi round. Examples of practice were included to illustrate application of the competency to practice.

CONCLUSIONS

A set of competencies outlining requirements for pharmacists to bring a public health perspective to practice will assist engagement of the pharmacy profession with public health.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

As key providers of public health initiatives, it is important for health professionals, including pharmacists, to engage with public health. Identifying competencies required to deliver effective public health will raise awareness of the contribution of pharmacists to public health and inform their education and professional development.

Development and evaluation of a decision aid for women eligible for organized breast cancer screening according to international standards: A multi-method study

BACKGROUND

and purpose: In France, women lack information to make a shared decision to start breast cancer screening. Decision aids are useful to facilitate this discussion, yet few meet international standards. The objective of this project was to build, validate and measure the quality of a decision aid for organized breast screening in France, in line with international standards, intended for both women and healthcare professionals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This mixed-methods study was conducted between January 2017 and June 2022. The prototype was developed from a qualitative study, systematic review and targeted literature review and alpha tested during two Delphi rounds. Readability was evaluated with the Flesch score and content with International Patient Decision Aid Standards Instrument (IPSASi).

RESULTS

An online decision aid, accessible at www.Discutons-mammo.fr, written in French was developed. The content included eligibility, information about breast screening the advantages and disadvantages of screening, patient preferences and a patient-based discussion guide using text, infographics, and videos. The Flesch readability test score was 65.4 and the IPDASi construct quality score was 176 out of 188.

CONCLUSIONS

This decision aid complies with IPDASi standards and could help women eligible for breast screening in France make a shared decision with a specialized healthcare professional about whether or not to participate in organized breast screening.

A survey of pharmacists' perception of the work environment and patient safety in community pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

Community pharmacies have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and new routines have been introduced to address the needs of customers and staff and to reduce the risk of spreading infection. Burnout has been described among staff possibly due to a changed working climate. However, little research has focused on the pandemic's effect on patient safety in community pharmacies.

Objective

To examine pharmacists' perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workload, working environment, and patient safety in community pharmacies.

Methods

A survey was distributed to all Swedish community pharmacists, constituting a census study. Questions regarding the pharmacists' perception of the impact of the pandemic on workload, working environment, and patient safety were included. Respondents were asked to provide comments on their working situation. Quantitative results were analysed using descriptive statistics, and comments were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Results

The response rate was 41% (2034 responses). Most pharmacists (62%) considered the workload to be increased during the pandemic while work environment deteriorated (physical work environment was considered worse by 47% of respondents while psychosocial work environment was considered worse by 59%). Despite this, many respondents (55%) believed that patient safety was not affected. Neither having had COVID-19 nor being afraid of contracting it, influenced these perceptions in any substantial way. Findings were consistent regardless of education, professional role, number of years in community pharmacies, or special assignments in the pharmacies. According to the respondents, the communication within pharmacy companies during the pandemic was inadequate.

Conclusions

The impact of the pandemic on working conditions is in line with previous findings but the effect on patient safety needs further studies. The respondents felt the management had a limited understanding of the conditions during the pandemic, which stresses the importance of good and clear communication during a crisis.

Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Mixed Methods Feasibility Trial of a Culturally Adapted Peer Support and Self-Management Intervention for African Americans

BACKGROUND

Due to diabetes disparities commonly seen among African Americans, it is important to address psychosocial and sociocultural barriers to medication adherence among African Americans with diabetes. Building on our prior work testing a culturally adapted peer supported diabetes self-management intervention for African Americans, this study will conduct a pilot randomized controlled feasibility trial that compares the culturally adapted intervention with a standard diabetes self-management program.

METHODS

Using an intervention mixed-methods design, the six-month trial will be conducted at two sites. Twenty-four African Americans with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes will be randomized to the intervention or control arm. Feasibility and acceptability outcomes in four domains (recruitment, intervention acceptability, intervention adherence, retention) will be collected. Primary clinical outcome (A1C), secondary outcome (medication adherence) and patient-specific psychosocial measures will be collected at baseline, 2 months, and 6 months. Document review, interview and focus groups will be used to gather qualitative data on feasibility and acceptability.

RESULTS

Expected results are that the trial protocol will be feasible to implement and acceptable for participants, and there will be a signal of clinically meaningful reduction in A1C and improvements in medication adherence.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this trial will inform a future powered large-scale randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of the culturally tailored intervention.

Exploration of changes in pharmacy students' perceptions of and attitudes towards professionalism: outcome of a community pharmacy experiential learning programme in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

A powerful way to nurture and strengthen professionalism is by accruing practice-based experiences. However, few studies in Taiwan have evaluated the impacts of experiential learning programmes on pharmacy students' views on professionalism - the core of quality healthcare practices and services. This study aimed to measure changes in perceptions of and attitudes towards professionalism among third-year pharmacy students following an introductory-intermediate experiential learning course.

METHODS

A single-group pre- and postcourse comparative study using a self-administered survey was conducted in 2017. Pharmacy students in their third year of a six-year programme were eligible to participate in this study. We used a 28-item questionnaire with a 10-point Likert-type scale to assess students' professionalism. Among them, 10 items were employed to assess students' perceived importance of professionalism in pharmacy practice, and another 18 items adapted from the Pharmacy Professionalism Instrument were used to evaluate students' attitudes towards pharmacy professionalism. An independent t test was performed to compare the differences in students' anonymous survey responses before and after the course, with an a priori level of statistical significance of 0.05.

RESULTS

Fifty-two pharmacy students participated in the study. They showed significant improvement in three tenets of professionalism, namely, altruism (p = 0.035), accountability (p = 0.026), and duty (p = 0.002), after completing the 5-week experiential course.

CONCLUSIONS

Pharmacy students' attitudes towards professionalism were modifiable by purposely designed experiential learning programme in the community setting. Such experiences may help socialize students with positive attitudes towards altruism, accountability, and duty.