Introduction:

Understanding variability in cultural and SDOH knowledge and skills of students entering pharmacy school, and how these change over the program is important for developing effective educational strategies to prepare students to provide person-centered care.

Research Question or Hypothesis:

Does variability exist in cultural and SDOH competency among students entering a culture-intensive first-year course? Is learning consistent as students’ progress through the pharmacy curriculum?

Study Design: pre/post validated survey

Methods:

Students anonymously completed the Self-Assessment of Perceived Level of Cultural Competence (SAPLCC) survey before and after a culture and SDOH-rich P1 course (required), after P3 capstone course (required) and after P4 APPEs (optional); four cohorts P1(pre/post 2021-2023), P3 (2021-2023) and P4 (2022-2023). SAPLCC consists of 75 items (4-point Likert scale) within six domains, and one global score (300 points). Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney were used (SPSS v29; p<0.05 significant).

Results:

P1 students were 23.7+3.9 years old, 68% female, 79% White, 40% Arab Americans 50% Christian, and 35% Muslim: not statistically different across cohorts.

(blank = not significant). Global scores were P1 pre 196.0+28.6, P1 post 246.3+32.1, P3 252.8+30.3, and P4 247.7+32.5: 66.0%, 83.0%, 84.3%, 83.4% of total score respectively.

Conclusion:

Initially, students had significantly different knowledge and skills scores, but similar SAPLCC global scores. Learning was not consistent across the cohorts. After first and fourth year, students’ global scores were statistically different. After P1, P3, and P4 years, 2-3 domains were statistically different between classmates. Additional knowledge, skills, and awareness training, including cultural encounters, are required for students to achieve similar cultural and SDOH competencies.