Identification of Social Determinants of Education Among Pharmacy Students: Results From a Single-Institution Survey.

OBJECTIVE: To identify social determinants of education (SDOE) among pharmacy students enrolled in the entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. METHODS: An original 28-item survey was developed and disseminated to first through fourth year students enrolled in the entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences during the spring 2023 semester. The survey evaluated student demographics, educational performance, and SDOE in 6 categories: physical health, psychosocial health, economic stability, self-motivation, social environment/community, and physical environment/community. RESULTS: A total of 133 students responded to the survey. Over half of the respondents acknowledged difficulties completing errands or self-care tasks owing to their physical, mental, or emotional health. Over half of respondents also reported concerns about covering expenses at the end of the month. Respondents also reported eating less because of financial restraints (20.0%), worrying about housing (22.9%), feeling unsafe in their neighborhood (29.0%), and feeling lonely or isolated (63.4%). In the secondary analysis, the respondents who had concerns with covering expenses, affording food, or losing housing had significantly lower academic performance. CONCLUSION: This study identified several SDOE among pharmacy students at our institution, suggesting that students at even the highest levels of education may be subject to disparities. The identification of SDOE provides insight into barriers that are potentially hidden but are highly likely to impact student engagement and success. Efforts toward reducing disparities and promoting equitable opportunities for students are necessary to ensure continued growth and diversification of the pharmacy profession.

Effects of pharmacist-driven protocol on naloxone prescribing rates in two primary care clinics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain recommend co-prescribing naloxone as a harm reduction strategy when there is an increased risk of opioid overdose. Although naloxone co-prescribing is an important harm reduction strategy, many at risk patients are not prescribed naloxone. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of a pharmacist-driven protocol at increasing the number of patients co-prescribed naloxone according to CDC recommendations. The study design was a multi-center retrospective cohort to evaluate the outcomes of a quality improvement intervention at two primary care clinics which aimed to increase naloxone co-prescribing. The intervention used a two-pronged approach consisting of telephonic outreach to eligible patients by pharmacists and pharmacy interns related to naloxone education and recommendations for naloxone co-prescribing. Additionally, recommendations were sent to the primary care provider in the electronic medical record (EMR) for consideration and implementation. After the 3 month intervention, 57 of the 86 patients contacted were co-prescribed naloxone (66.3%). Most naloxone initiation occurred at the time of telephonic outreach as a new medication order (n = 36), however an additional 12 patients were co-prescribed naloxone at a subsequent primary care provider visit. The proportion of patients at each clinic with MME ≥ 50 co-prescribed naloxone significantly increased after implementation of the intervention (pre 25/64 vs. post 43/76, p = 0.043). Overall, telephonic outreach to patients with recommendations to primary care providers in the EMR were effective methods to increase the rate of naloxone co-prescribing in primary care based on this study.