Microcredentials training in pharmacy practice and education: an exploratory study of its viability and pharmacists' professional needs.

BACKGROUND: Microcredentials (MCs) are short courses that certify/recognise an individual's achievement of specific skills or knowledge. Schools of pharmacy could be well-placed to contribute to the continuing professional development (CPD) of pharmacists through the inclusion of MCs training in their programs. This study aimed to explore pharmacy professionals' views on the need and viability of MC courses globally. METHODS: Eleven semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with pharmacy practitioners, policymakers, and academics across seven countries. The participants were selected using purposive sampling to explore information from varying pharmacy disciplines. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using a general inductive approach. RESULTS: Participants regarded MCs in pharmacy as an innovative idea, well-suited to the increasingly technology-driven world. They believe MCs provide easily accessible means of skills and knowledge acquisition that fulfils the needs of the pharmacy profession. MCs were also perceived as an alternative pathway of meeting the requirements of traditional CPD programmes. Many participants believe universities are well-suited to provide MCs; however, numerous challenges such as recognition, time and resources have been identified as potential barriers to enrolment and implementation. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an insight into the views of pharmacy practitioners and academics on MCs, and their potential utility in pharmacy education and practice. The findings should help in the development of MCs that could be utilised by pharmacy practitioners around the world for CPD purposes. This study comes at a time when alternative models of teaching and learning are being explored as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of the first wave of COVID-19 on the health and psychosocial well-being of Maori, Pacific Peoples and New Zealand Europeans living in aged residential care.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of New Zealand's (NZ) first wave of COVID-19, which included a nationwide lockdown, on the health and psychosocial well-being of Maori, Pacific Peoples and NZ Europeans in aged residential care (ARC). METHODS: interRAI assessments of Maori, Pacific Peoples and NZ Europeans (aged 60 years and older) completed between 21/3/2020 and 8/6/2020 were compared with assessments of the same ethnicities during the same period in the previous year (21/3/2019 to 8/6/2019). Physical, cognitive, psychosocial and service utilisation indicators were included in the bivariate analyses. RESULTS: A total of 538 Maori, 276 Pacific Peoples and 11,322 NZ Europeans had an interRAI assessment during the first wave of COVID-19, while there were 549 Maori, 248 Pacific Peoples and 12,367 NZ Europeans in the comparative period. Fewer Maori reported feeling lonely (7.8% vs. 4.5%, p = 0.021), but more NZ Europeans reported severe depressive symptoms (6.9% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.028) during COVID-19. Lower rates of hospitalisation were observed in Maori (7.4% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.046) and NZ Europeans (8.1% vs. 9.4%, p < 0.001) during COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: We found a lower rate of loneliness in Maori but a higher rate of depression in NZ European ARC populations during the first wave of COVID-19. Further research, including qualitative studies with ARC staff, residents and families, and different ethnic communities, is needed to explain these ethnic group differences. Longer-term effects from the COVID-19 pandemic on ARC populations should also be investigated.