Abstract
Background: To investigate information sources utilized in pharmacists’ assessment of population-based health needs and/or community changes; and the association between information sources utilized and reported completion of continuing professional education topics. Methods: In 2017; licensed pharmacists (n = 1124) in North Dakota; South Dakota; Minnesota; Iowa; and Nebraska completed a questionnaire on continuing professional education and information sources on population-based health needs and community changes. Data were entered; cleaned and imported into Stata 11.1. Census Bureau county-level population density data were used to classify local area characteristics. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Most sources of primary; county-level data on population-based health needs or community changes were minimally utilized. Pharmacists in more rural areas were statistically more likely to use local health professionals; local non-health professionals; and/or the state health department compared to pharmacists in less rural areas. Pharmacists reporting higher use of population-based information sources were more likely to have completed continuing education in the past 12 months for all 21 surveyed topics; 13 significantly so. Conclusions: There is a reliance of pharmacists on information from local health and non-health professionals for information on population-based health needs and/or community changes. Utilization of health departments and other primary information sources was associated with increased rates of completion of an array of continuing professional education topics. Expanding utilization of evidence-driven information sources would improve pharmacists’ ability to better identify and respond to population-based health needs and/or community changes through programs and services offered; and tailor continuing professional education to population-based health needs.
Highlights
In the United States (U.S.), pharmacists are one of the most accessible health professionals and represent a significant component of the trained healthcare workforce in both urban and rural communities [1,2]
After adjusting for terminal pharmacy degree, pharmacy residency, Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) certification, and workplace area population density, there were few differences between respondents working in community pharmacies compared to those practicing in hospitals or clinics, excepting that those practicing in hospitals or clinics were less likely to report seeking information on population-based health needs and/or community changes using Medicare compared to those in community settings (Table 2)
This study revealed that among surveyed pharmacists practicing in IA, MN, NE, North Dakota (ND), and standard deviation (SD), there were very low reported rates of utilization of primary, evidence-based information sources on population-based health needs and/or community changes, irrespective on pharmacy practice setting or location
Summary
In the United States (U.S.), pharmacists are one of the most accessible health professionals and represent a significant component of the trained healthcare workforce in both urban and rural communities [1,2]. There is a general understanding of current public health services provided by pharmacists, especially in community pharmacies, there is limited information about specific resources utilized by pharmacists to self-educate about population-based health needs and community changes. In providing or considering provision of health promotion services, it is essential that healthcare professionals utilize up-to-date, evidence-based information to understand and attempt to address population-based health needs and community changes [1,12]. For rural healthcare practitioners in particular (defined as pharmacists practicing in areas with 25 or fewer persons per square mile, see methods for a full description), obtaining information that is high-quality but relevant to a local area can be a significant and challenging barrier, since information is sometimes available at the county-level, but often only for larger area aggregates [16].
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