Impact of pharmacist-led program on knowledge of college students about pre-exposure prophylaxis.

OBJECTIVE: This study's primary objective was to evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-led educational program on undergraduate college students' knowledge about PrEP. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, pre- and postprogram survey study. The study included undergraduate students at least 18 years old at a university in Washington, DC. Graduate students, pharmacy students, and those not enrolled at the university were excluded. Before the educational program, the participants completed an anonymous preprogram survey to assess their perception and knowledge of HIV prevention and PrEP as well as their willingness to obtain a prescription for PrEP. A pharmacist delivered a 30-minute educational program to students regarding HIV prevention and PrEP in small groups. After the program, the participants completed a postprogram survey to evaluate the changes from the baseline responses. Paired t tests and chi-square tests detected the associations between the pre- and postprogram surveys. RESULTS: One-hundred sixteen students participated in the program, and 102 surveys were included in the data analysis. Students' perception of their knowledge of HIV (4.2 vs. 4.6; P < 0.001), perception of their knowledge of PrEP (3.1 vs. 4.5; P < 0.001), and their willingness to obtain a prescription for PrEP (3.8 vs. 4.5; P < 0.001) was statistically significant after the education. There was a statistically significant increase in the participants' actual knowledge of HIV risk factors (62.4% correct vs. 90.2% correct; P < 0.001) and knowledge of PrEP effectiveness (26.3% vs. 75.0%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrated that a pharmacist-led educational program may have an impact on undergraduate students' perception and knowledge of HIV and PrEP. This study may help to further guide pharmacists' PrEP initiatives in this targeted population.

Impact of pharmacist-led program on knowledge of college students about pre-exposure prophylaxis.

OBJECTIVE: This study's primary objective was to evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-led educational program on undergraduate college students' knowledge about PrEP. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, pre- and postprogram survey study. The study included undergraduate students at least 18 years old at a university in Washington, DC. Graduate students, pharmacy students, and those not enrolled at the university were excluded. Before the educational program, the participants completed an anonymous preprogram survey to assess their perception and knowledge of HIV prevention and PrEP as well as their willingness to obtain a prescription for PrEP. A pharmacist delivered a 30-minute educational program to students regarding HIV prevention and PrEP in small groups. After the program, the participants completed a postprogram survey to evaluate the changes from the baseline responses. Paired t tests and chi-square tests detected the associations between the pre- and postprogram surveys. RESULTS: One-hundred sixteen students participated in the program, and 102 surveys were included in the data analysis. Students' perception of their knowledge of HIV (4.2 vs. 4.6; P < 0.001), perception of their knowledge of PrEP (3.1 vs. 4.5; P < 0.001), and their willingness to obtain a prescription for PrEP (3.8 vs. 4.5; P < 0.001) was statistically significant after the education. There was a statistically significant increase in the participants' actual knowledge of HIV risk factors (62.4% correct vs. 90.2% correct; P < 0.001) and knowledge of PrEP effectiveness (26.3% vs. 75.0%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrated that a pharmacist-led educational program may have an impact on undergraduate students' perception and knowledge of HIV and PrEP. This study may help to further guide pharmacists' PrEP initiatives in this targeted population.

Patient perception of community pharmacists prescribing pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to determine patients' perceptions of pharmacists prescribing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention. DESIGN: An anonymous, 26-item, cross-sectional survey was administered to individuals and data collection occurred during a 12-week period from January to March 2019. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Individuals were recruited to complete the survey in person at 5 locations of a large grocery-chain pharmacy in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Inclusion criteria included individuals who were at least 18 years old and able to read and write English. Exclusion criteria included persons living with HIV or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. OUTCOME MEASURES: In order to measure perception, participants were asked on the survey to select their level of agreement using a Likert scale from 1 to 5 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Researchers analyzed overall perception in addition to differences in perception based on various demographic characteristics. RESULTS: In total, 117 surveys were collected and analyzed. Most participants were comfortable with pharmacists prescribing PrEP. Notable statistically significant findings included participants who interacted with pharmacists through medication therapy review (4.4, 3.1 [P < 0.05]) and vaccinations (4.3, 3.1 [P < 0.05]) were more likely to agree with pharmacists prescribing PrEP than participants who had no previous interactions with pharmacists. Participants who had previously used PrEP were more likely to agree with pharmacists prescribing PrEP than those who had not used PrEP before. CONCLUSION: This study provided a glimpse into patients' perceptions of pharmacists prescribing PrEP. Patients were generally favorable of pharmacists prescribing PrEP; however, there are still barriers to overcome before prescribing PrEP for HIV prevention can feasibly occur in the community setting.