1. A Survey assessing HIV Knowledge/Skill and Continuing Education (CE) Interest of Pharmacists attending CE Programs in Massachusetts
Anela Stanic, PharmD¹’²; Denis Rybin, MS³; Anita Young, MEd⁴; Caroline Zeind, PharmD²; Hélène Hardy, PharmD, MSc, AAHIVE¹’²
1. Boston Medical Center; 2. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; 3. Boston University School of Public Health; 4.Northeastern University School of Pharmacy
Correspondence:
Anela Stanic, PharmD
Phone:
Abstract
Results
Purpose: To assess and compare pharmacists’ perceived knowledge and continuing education (CE) interests in HIV during Massachusetts CE programs offered in 2003 and 2008.
Methods: Pharmacists completed an anonymous 19-item survey assessing perceived knowledge and CE interest (low, medium, high) in HIV and its management. Demographic data included gender, time of the most advanced pharmacy degree, preferred methods of learning, primary practice setting, and number of HIV-infected patients served monthly. Bivariate analyses with Chi-square tests were performed to compare 2003 and 2008 data.
Results: The survey was completed by 170 pharmacists in 2003 and 92 pharmacists in Although a different audience was surveyed, gender and the time when pharmacists received their most advanced pharmacy degree did not differ. Chain pharmacy was the practice setting for 62 % of attendees in 2003 and 36 % in Pharmacists surveyed in 2008 were seeing different numbers of HIV patients/month compared to 2003 (10 % vs. 4 % were seeing > 50 patients/month). Perceived knowledge was different in 2008 for metabolic complications (17 % vs. 6 % reported high knowledge, p = 0.019), hepatitis co-infection (16 % vs. 6 %, p = 0.045), and drug-drug interactions (18 % vs. 5 %, p = 0.001). Over 50 % of surveyed pharmacists reported low knowledge about new therapies, virological resistance, and HIV in special populations. In 2008, there was more interest in clinical case discussion (30 % vs. 17 %, p = 0.009) and web-based method of learning (12 % vs. 5 %, p = 0.031). CE topic interests did not differ; over 50 % of pharmacists were highly interested in treatment guidelines, adverse events (AE), drug-drug interactions (DDI), and new therapies.
Conclusion: Surveyed pharmacists appear to have an increased interest in learning about HIV via clinical case discussion and/or web-based tools. HIV CE topics may be tailored toward DDI, AE, and new therapies, where most pharmacists had lower knowledge confidence and high CE interest.
The survey was distributed during CE programs and was completed by 170 pharmacists in 2003 and 92 pharmacists in 2008.
DEMOGRAPHIC FINDINGS:
There were no differences between pharmacists surveyed in 2003 and 2008 in gender and the time when the most advanced pharmacy degree was received.
Chain pharmacy was the practice setting for 62 % of pharmacists surveyed in 2003 and 36 % of pharmacists surveyed in 2008 (p <0.0001). More surveyed pharmacists practiced in a hospital/institutional setting in 2008 (20 %) vs. in 2003 (9%), p = 0.02.
Pharmacists surveyed in 2008 were providing care to a different number of HIV-infected patients/month compared to pharmacists who completed the survey in 2003 (p = 0.005):
In 2008, 10 % of pharmacists provided care to > 50 HIV-infected patients/month vs. 4 % of pharmacists in 2003
More surveyed pharmacists cared for up to 10 HIV-infected patients/month in 2003 (55 %) vs. in 2008 (33 %)
PERCEIVED KNOWLEDGE & CE INTERESTS:
Surveyed pharmacists rated higher knowledge confidence in 2008 vs in these three HIV-related topics: metabolic complications (p = 0.019), hepatitis co-infection (p = 0.045), and drug-drug interactions (p = 0.001).
More than 50 % of surveyed pharmacists in both years reported low knowledge about new HIV therapies/clinical trials, virological resistance, and management of HIV/AIDS in special populations.
There was no difference in CE topic interests between the two groups of pharmacists:
More than 50 % of pharmacists surveyed in both years were highly interested in HIV treatment guidelines, adverse events (AE), drug-drug interactions (DDI), and new HIV therapies. More than 50 % of pharmacists surveyed in either year had low to medium CE interest in the following topics: HIV transmission, diagnostic testing and monitoring, and neuropsychiatric manifestations of HIV infection.
PREFERRED METHODS OF LEARNING:
The top 3 preferred learning methods selected by pharmacists in both 2003 and 2008 were:
Lecture/presentation (60 % vs. 61 % of pharmacists preferred this method in 2003 and 2008, respectively; p = 0.861)
Clinical case discussion (17 % vs. 30 % in 2003 vs. 2008, p = 0.009) and
Self-instruction (17 % vs. 14 % in 2003 vs. 2008, p = 0.605)
In addition to higher interest in clinical case discussion, significantly greater % of pharmacists surveyed in 2008 vs. in 2003 were interested in web-based method of learning (12 % vs. 5 %, p = 0.031)
Objectives
Assess demographic differences between pharmacists surveyed in 2003 and 2008
Measure pharmacists’ perceived knowledge and continuing education interests in HIV - related topics
Assess differences in perceived knowledge and CE interests between the two groups of surveyed pharmacists
Identify pharmacists’ preferred method of learning and assess differences in the preferred learning method between the
two groups
Conclusion
Pharmacists surveyed in 2003 and 2008 differed demographically in three areas: primary practice setting (in 2008, a lower number of pharmacists practiced in the chain pharmacy and a higher number in the hospital/institutional setting compared to 2003), the number of HIV–infected patients they serve/month (more pharmacists in 2008 cared for > 50 HIV-infected patients/month), and preferred method of learning (pharmacists in 2008 had a higher interest in learning about HIV via clinical case discussion and/or web-based tools compared to pharmacists in 2003).
Pharmacists surveyed in 2008 had higher perceived knowledge than pharmacists in 2003 in metabolic complications, hepatitis co-infection, and drug-drug interactions.
HIV CE topic interests did not differ between the two groups of pharmacists.
Most pharmacists surveyed in either year had CE interests and low perceived knowledge in the following HIV topics: drug-drug interactions, adverse events, and new HIV therapies/clinical trials.
Pharmacists surveyed in either year had lower CE interest in HIV transmission and diagnostic testing and monitoring topics.
Methods
Pharmacists completed an anonymous, 19-item survey:
5 questions assessed demographic information: gender, time when the most advanced pharmacy degree was received, primary practice setting, number of HIV-positive patients served/month, and preferred method of learning.
14 questions assessed pharmacists’ perceived knowledge and CE learning interest in the following HIV topics:
Basic HIV/AIDS science (HIV transmission, post exposure prophylaxis, and diagnostic testing & monitoring)
Clinical manifestations/co-morbidities associated with HIV/AIDS (neuropsychiatric manifestations, metabolic complications, opportunistic infections, and hepatitis co-infection) and
HIV/AIDS management (HIV treatment guidelines, adherence to antiretroviral therapy, adverse events, drug-drug interactions, virological resistance testing, new therapies/clinical trials, and HIV/AIDS in special populations)
Likert-type of responses were used for 14 questions assessing pharmacists’ perceived knowledge and CE interest in
various HIV-related topics: 1 = Low; 2 = Medium; 3 = High
Bivariate analyses with Chi-square tests were performed to compare the survey data from 2003 and 2008.
References
Stanic A, Schneider T, Tataronis G, Garvin G, Greenwald J, Whitney D, Zeind C, Rudorf D, Hardy H. The Development and Implementation of Multidisciplinary Educational Program to Address Knowledge Deficiencies Involving Antiretroviral Medications in a Large Teaching Hospital. American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Annual Meeting; July 9-13, Cincinnati, Ohio. Poster # M69.
Hardy H, Stanic A, Tataronis G, Traxler T, Greenwald J, Whitney D, Skolnik P. Population-Based Survey of Health Worker’s Perceived Knowledge and Continuing Education Interest about HIV Disease and Its Treatment. 2nd ACCP-ESCP International Congress on Clinical Pharmacy; April 2004, Paris, France. Poster # 499.