Change in pharmacy resident familiarity, attitudes, comfort, and knowledge regarding digital health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2023.231.362367Keywords:
Digital health, Pharmacy residency, Teaching certificateAbstract
Background: Digital health is a growing area of interest in healthcare however. There is limited evidence to support this topic is being covered in pharmacy education, including postgraduate residency training programmes. This study aimed to determine if exposure to digital health topics throughout a teaching certificate programme leads to a significant change in resident familiarity, attitudes, comfort, and knowledge regarding digital health.
Methods: The resident cohort was exposed to digital health content during a teaching certificate. Residents completed a questionnaire regarding their familiarity, attitudes, comfort, and knowledge regarding digital health at the beginning and end of the teaching certificate. Responses to each section of the questionnaire, as well as an overall score, were calculated and analysed.
Results: Eighteen residents completed both the pre-and post-questionnaire. The median scores for familiarity and comfort increased significantly (p < 0.0001) after the yearlong intervention. Median scores for attitudes and knowledge did not see a significant change after intervention.
Conclusion: After exposure to digital health in a teaching certificate programme, pharmacy residents demonstrated a significant increase in familiarity and comfort with digital health, however there was not a significant change in attitudes or knowledge.
References
Aungst, T., Franzese, C., & Kim, Y. (2021). Digital health implications for clinical pharmacists services: A primer on the current landscape and future concerns. Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, 4(4), 514–524. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1382
Aungst, T.D., & Patel R. (2020). Integrating digital health into the curriculum considerations on the current landscape and future developments. Journal of Medical Education Curricular Development, 7, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2382120519901275
Drerup, B., Espenschied, J., Wiedemer, J., & Hamilton, L. (2021). Reduced no-show rates and sustained patient satisfaction of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine Journal and E-Health, 27(12), 1409‒1415. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2021.0002
International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). (2021). FIP Digital health in pharmacy education. The Hague: International Pharmaceutical Federation. https://www.fip.org/file/4958
Keesara, S., Jonas, A., & Schulman, K. (2020). Covid-19 and health care's digital revolution. New England Journal of Medicine, 382(23), e82. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp2005835
Mantel-Teeuwisse, A.K., Meilianti, S., Khatri, B., Yi, W., Azzopardi, L.M., Acosta Gómez, J., Gülpınar, G., Bennara, K., Uzman, N. (2021). Digital health in pharmacy education: Preparedness and responsiveness of pharmacy programmes. Education Sciences, 11(6), 296. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11060296
Martin, A., Brummond, P., Vlasimsky, T., Steffenhagen, A., Langley, J., Glowczewski, J., Boyd, A., Engels, M., Hermann, S., & Skaff A. (2018). The evolving frontier of digital health: Opportunities for pharmacists on the horizon. Hospital Pharmacy, 53(1), 7–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018578717738221
Ng, V. (2014). Digital health coach: The evolving role of pharmacists [White Paper]. Longwoods. https://www.longwoods.com/articles/images/TELUS%220Sante_v2.pdf
Park, T., Muzumdar, J., & Kim, H.M. (2002). Digital health interventions by clinical pharmacists: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1), 532. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010532
Pathipati, A.S., Azad, T.D., & Jethwani, K. (2016). Telemedical education: Training digital natives in telemedicine. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(7), e193. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.5534
Rooney, J.E. (2021, April 23). Diving into digital health. Academic Pharmacy Now. https://www.aacp.org/article/diving-digital-health
Temesgen, Z.M., DeSimone, D.C., Mahmood, M., Libertin, C.R., Varatharaj Palraj, B.R., & Berbari, E.F. (2020). Health care after the COVID-19 pandemic and the influence of telemedicine. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 95(9s), S66–S68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2020.06.052
Zhang, P.C. (2022). The future of pharmacy is intertwined with digital health innovation. Canadian Pharmacists Journal/Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada, 155(1), 7‒8. https://doi.org/10.1177/17151635211044474