Campus-community pharmacy partnership to foster awareness and use of MedlinePlus.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the impact of a campus-community pharmacy partnership to foster awareness and use of National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases, including MedlinePlus, among minority populations.

DESIGN

Uncontrolled study with pretest and posttest.

SETTING

Two community pharmacies and Bethel World Ministry in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

PARTICIPANTS

8 student pharmacists and pharmacy residents and 92 patients.

INTERVENTION

Training of patients by student pharmacists and pharmacy residents in the use of NLM databases during prescription-fill wait time.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Pre- and post-survey responses and telephone followup designed to assess familiarity with NLM databases, including MedlinePlus.

RESULTS

Overall, the familiarity of the participants with MedlinePlus and NLM databases increased fivefold before versus after training. The 1-week follow-up confirmed this trend. However, no statistically significant differences in responses (pre-and posttest/follow-up) to the surveys were observed in regard to specific questions on daily and future use of the NLM databases available on the Internet.

CONCLUSION

Awareness and use of MedlinePlus by study participants increased.