Late Breaking Original Research
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
08:30 AM–10:00 AM
Abstract
Introduction: Developing health equity-minded student pharmacists requires longitudinal curricular integration of social determinants of health (SDOH). Currently, there is a lack of student perceptions around this integrated information as well as identified individual curricular gaps. Purdue College of Pharmacy evaluated students’ perceived incorporation of SDOH in didactic therapeutic courses.
Research Question or Hypothesis: From the student’s perspective, how are SDOH incorporated into Integrated Pharmacotherapy courses during the didactic portion of a pharmacy curriculum?
Study Design: Observational study
Methods: This study evaluated the included SDOH concepts in the Integrated Pharmacotherapy sequence during the 2021-2022 school year. Two trained students from each class (P1, P2, P3) completed a standard survey to collect SDOH content included within lectures. The SDOH concepts evaluated: race, gender, sexual orientation, access to care, language/health literacy, neighborhood/built environment, socioeconomic status, and other vulnerable populations. Outcomes analyzed using descriptive statistics included SDOH concept frequency and type included in lectures and the overall Integrated Pharmacotherapy sequence.
Results: Overall, 261 lectures from five courses were analyzed. Students surveyed agreed that 74 (28.4%) lectures included at least one SDOH. When reviewed by year, 43%(P1), 31%(P2) and 18%(P3) of lectures included at least one SDOH. Of the SDOH concepts analyzed, “Vulnerable Populations” (10%), “Race” (5.7%) and “Access to Care” (4.6%) were covered most frequently. During the lectures, SDOH content was most frequently identified in: epidemiology (23.3%), pathophysiology (18.6%), therapeutics (34.1%) and patient cases (17.8%). When further evaluated, epidemiology portions only included concepts of gender and race (33%). Additionally, when SDOH were included in patient cases, students perceived their inclusion significantly impacted case discussions.
Conclusion: This study evaluated an entire Integrated Pharmacotherapy sequence for the inclusion of SDOH content. Unfortunately, a minority of therapeutics lectures included any SDOH. However, this study highlights opportunities for meaningful SDOH content inclusion in therapeutics to foster the development of a health equity mindset in future pharmacists.
Presenting Author
Akshara Kumar PharmDUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hil
Authors
Chelsea Baker PharmD
Purdue University College of Pharmacy
Rakhi Karwa PharmD
Purdue University College of Pharmacy / Purdue Kenya Partnership
Carly Kimiecik MSW
Purdue University
Jasmine Gonzalvo PharmD, BC-ADM, CDCES, FADCES
Purdue University
Monica L. Miller PharmD, MS
Purdue University College of Pharmacy
David Foster PharmD, FCCP
Purdue University
Kara Weatherman PharmD
Purdue University College of Pharmacy
Steven Scott PharmD
Purdue University College of Pharmacy