Teaching pharmacy students to develop an evidence-based public health program directed toward a vulnerable population

Expanding student pharmacists' knowledge of public health principles and increasing their confidence in designing public health outreach programs is important given their frequent interactions with patients.

As part of a pharmacotherapeutics seminar, students designed a public health program that addressed a given health issue in a vulnerable population in a Boston-area neighborhood, taking into account population-specific cultural, economic, and lifestyle factors. Students constructed a patient pamphlet and delivered a professional presentation describing the program design, implementation strategies, and intended outcomes. A pre- and post-test assessed students' basic population health knowledge and their confidence in creating, implementing, and evaluating a program.

Participation was > 98% for post-surveys. Students' confidence in their ability to influence vulnerable population health significantly increased after this activity (agreement, pre vs. post). They reported an increase in their ability to: find and interpret epidemiological data as it pertains to population health (48% vs. 96%), create educational materials in language appropriate for patients (62% vs. 89%), and create a feasible public health outreach program on a selected health issue that takes into account patient specific cultural, economic, and lifestyle factors (35% to 84%) (P<0.001). Additionally, students' confidence in preparing a professional presentation improved (65% to 89%), along with their ability to identify appropriate and measurable outcomes for program evaluation (54% to 93%) (P<0.001))

The addition of this activity to the pharmacotherapeutics seminar curriculum demonstrated that student pharmacists' knowledge and confidence in addressing public health needs can be substantially influenced.