Abstract
BackgroundThe sustainable development goals were launched by the United Nations in 2015. Its fifth goal was describing the achievement of universal health coverage by 2030. This goal reaffirms the importance of investing in the development and training of the global health workforce. In alliance with this, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has published reports about pharmacy workforce planning in several countries. However, data about Qatar were not included in these reports. In 2017, FIP developed a transformational roadmap of pharmaceutical workforce and education. One systematic framework component of the roadmap is the Pharmaceutical Workforce Development Goals (DG[w]s) that were released in late 2016 and subsequently incorporated into the more comprehensive Global Development Goals1 in 2020, encompassing not only workforce development, but additionally practice and pharmaceutical science development. This study aimed to evaluate the current situation of pharmacy workforce and education in Qatar in relation to the original 13 Pharmaceutical Workforce Development Goals (DG[w]s). The objective was to identify the gaps in pharmacy workforce and education and to recommend evidence-led strategies to be included in both the Ministry of Public Health and the Qatar University College of Pharmacy workforce development plans.MethodsThree rounds of conventional Delphi technique were conducted with expert panels of key decision-makers in pharmacy practice from the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University and the Ministry of Public Health, utilizing the FIP’s self-assessment survey. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze and prioritize the identified gaps from the collected data. DG[w] was considered “met” if all the provided indicators were achieved, “partially met” if at least one of the indicators were achieved, and “not met” if none of the indicators were achievedResultsThe lack of competency framework (DG[w]5), workforce data (DG[w]12), and workforce policy formation (DG[w]13) are three major gaps in the provision of pharmaceutical workforce and pharmacy education in Qatar, influencing other DG[w]s. These gaps need to be addressed by the formation of Qatar Pharmaceutical Association through which academic, practice, and policymaking sectors can work together in developing health workforce intelligence system.ConclusionThe results indicated that DG[w]s are interrelated and a gap in one goal can negatively influence others. Results and recommendations of this research will facilitate the implementation of strategic plans across leading pharmacy sectors to meet health needs in Qatar and achieve the third pillar of the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Highlights
The United Nations launched the sustainable development goals in 2015, which are global development targets, to be achieved by 2030—building on the millennium development goals that preceded them; the fifth sustainable development goal describes achieving universal health coverage including access to quality essential healthcare services for all citizens by 2030 [1].1 This goal reaffirms the importance of investing in the development and training of the global health workforce especially as the availability of a capable, competent and accessible healthcare workforce is a global challenge [1,2,3], which is a potential barrier to the improvement and development of national and global health services [4]
The aims of this study were to: (1) evaluate and assess the current situation of pharmacy workforce, education, profession and system from different institutional and stakeholder perspectives in the State of Qatar in relation to the 13 The Pharmaceutical Workforce Development Goals (DG[w]s); (2) identify the gaps in pharmacy workforce, education and practice development and; (3) recommend possible solutions as potential strategies to be included in the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH)’s and College of Pharmacy’s (CPH) at Qatar University (QU) future plans
Bruno et al argued that this variability is caused by lack of competency frameworks and quality assurance systems [34] which emphasizes the significance of developing such quality assurance measures for pharmacy education in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) generally [8]
Summary
The United Nations launched the sustainable development goals in 2015, which are global development targets, to be achieved by 2030—building on the millennium development goals that preceded them; the fifth sustainable development goal describes achieving universal health coverage including access to quality essential healthcare services for all citizens by 2030 [1].1 This goal reaffirms the importance of investing in the development and training of the global health workforce especially as the availability of a capable, competent and accessible healthcare workforce is a global challenge [1,2,3], which is a potential barrier to the improvement and development of national and global health services [4]. The United Nations launched the sustainable development goals in 2015, which are global development targets, to be achieved by 2030—building on the millennium development goals that preceded them; the fifth sustainable development goal describes achieving universal health coverage including access to quality essential healthcare services for all citizens by 2030 [1].1. This goal reaffirms the importance of investing in the development and training of the global health workforce especially as the availability of a capable, competent and accessible healthcare workforce is a global challenge [1,2,3], which is a potential barrier to the improvement and development of national and global health services [4]. The objective was to identify the gaps in pharmacy workforce and education and to recommend evidence-led strategies to be included in both the Ministry of Public Health and the Qatar University College of Pharmacy workforce development plans
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