Original Research
Monday, November 13, 2023
01:00 PM–02:30 PM
Abstract
Introduction: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published a guide to help address the structural/social determinants of health (SSDOH) and highlighted that experiential and collaborative learning are areas that have not yet been adequately explored. There is a gap in pharmacy students’ training focused on identifying and addressing SSDOH, specifically in the clinical setting.
Research Question or Hypothesis:
How does structural competency training in a clinical learning environment affect students’ empathy and confidence in addressing structural/social determinants of health?
Study Design: A mixed-methods study design was utilized to collect quantitative data from pre- and post-surveys and qualitative data on the post-survey.
Methods:
Fourth-year pharmacy students participated in a structural health project that included didactic and experiential learning. Students led a home visit with a patient experiencing SSDOH. Afterwards, they completed geo-mapping to compare health outcomes of their patient to the general population and identified resources to help reduce the impact of SSDOH. Students completed an anonymous pre-and-post survey that included 6 questions assessing empathy and 4 questions evaluating knowledge and confidence addressing SSDOH. The post-survey also asked how the project can be improved. Survey results were analyzed using SPSS software and Wilcoxon Signed-ranks test.
Results:
A total of 21 pharmacy students were enrolled in the ambulatory care rotation and there were 17 matched responses used for comparison. There were no statistically significant differences found on the impact of empathy after participating in the structural health project. However, there was a statistical difference in students’ reported ability to identify SSDOH (p=.007) and confidence in reducing the impact of SSDOH on their patients (p=0.016). For improvement, students would like another debrief session to review additional concepts on SSDOH.
Conclusion: A structural health project did not have any impact on pharmacy students’ empathy but did improve their reported ability to identify and confidence addressing SSDOH.
Presenting Author
Ashley Crowl PharmD, BCACPUniversity of Kansas
Authors