Abstract
Background: The cultural competency (CC) of healthcare professionals has been demonstrated to reduce health disparities in ethnic minority populations.
Aims: To investigate the factors associated with CC in pharmacy undergraduates and identify the curricula activities pERPeived to contribute developing competence.
Method: An adapted version of the Clinical Cultural Competency Questionnaire (CCCQ) (Like 2001) was employed to determine the CC of first and final year pharmacy undergraduates. Follow-up focus groups facilitated in-depth discussion of
key findings.
Results: Both first and final year MPharm students (n=135) demonstrated limited CC and poor knowledge of health disparities. The CCCQ indicated final year students to be comparatively more culturally competent; furthermore a significant positive correlation was identified with increased age and having lived or travelled abroad. Final year students attributed their increased competency to work-based placements. Curricula activities to develop CC were identified to be lacking in the pharmacy programme.
Conclusion: Recent international healthcare education research has reported on activities to develop undergraduate CC with the aim of enhancing students' preparedness in tackling the health challenges of increasing diverse populations. Similar UK studies have not been reported. The increasing patient-facing roles of pharmacists, escalates the necessity of addressing this issue.
Aims: To investigate the factors associated with CC in pharmacy undergraduates and identify the curricula activities pERPeived to contribute developing competence.
Method: An adapted version of the Clinical Cultural Competency Questionnaire (CCCQ) (Like 2001) was employed to determine the CC of first and final year pharmacy undergraduates. Follow-up focus groups facilitated in-depth discussion of
key findings.
Results: Both first and final year MPharm students (n=135) demonstrated limited CC and poor knowledge of health disparities. The CCCQ indicated final year students to be comparatively more culturally competent; furthermore a significant positive correlation was identified with increased age and having lived or travelled abroad. Final year students attributed their increased competency to work-based placements. Curricula activities to develop CC were identified to be lacking in the pharmacy programme.
Conclusion: Recent international healthcare education research has reported on activities to develop undergraduate CC with the aim of enhancing students' preparedness in tackling the health challenges of increasing diverse populations. Similar UK studies have not been reported. The increasing patient-facing roles of pharmacists, escalates the necessity of addressing this issue.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | ERO6 |
| Pages (from-to) | 250 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Pharmacy Education |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Jul 2017 |
| Event | Pharmacy Education Symposium : Pharmacy education and collaboration for global practice - Prato, Italy Duration: 9 Jul 2017 → 12 Jul 2017 https://www.monash.edu/pharm/about/events/education-symposium |
Keywords
- pharmaceutical education
- pharmacy culture