Mapping pharmacy curricula in one Australian pharmacy school
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2026.261.8095Keywords:
Aboriginal, Australia, Health curriculum framework, Pharmacy school, Torres Strait IslanderAbstract
Background: Recent years have seen higher education focus on decolonising curricula and integrating First Nations' knowledge into university degrees. The Australian Government introduced the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum framework (2014) to support this integration in health education. This study aimed to map and examine alignment of a pharmacy school's curriculum to the eight foundational principles of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health Curriculum Framework through stakeholder interviews, and identify barriers associated with the teaching of First Nations content.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews (n=30) were conducted with key stakeholders. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded in NVivo to Ritchie and Spencer’s Framework and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework.
Results: Interviews revealed that although cultural safety was covered in curricula, it was sporadically integrated more in practice-based units in comparison to science-based units. Mapping participant quotes to the Framework, revealed that of the eight areas of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Framework, five areas needed further development.
Conclusion: Through curriculum mapping, a holistic picture of a curricula’s’ First Nations’ health and cultural safety was gathered and allowed for the identification of gaps in content and barriers were identified.
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