Scott Devin, Cernasev Alina, Barenie Rachel E, Springer Sydney P, Axon David R
Teaching and Learning Center, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 920 Madison, Suite 424, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy, 301 S. Perimeter Park Dr., Suite 220, Nashville, TN 37211, USA.
Clin Pract. 2023 Mar 14;13(2):442-453. doi: 10.3390/clinpract13020040.
In the last two decades in the United States (US), the previous research has focused on medication optimization, including polypharmacy. Polypharmacy is associated with several negative outcomes, which may be resolved by deprescribing medications that are no longer necessary. Although deprescribing is a critical aspect of a pharmacist's role, some studies have demonstrated that student pharmacists are less familiar with their future role in deprescribing. Thus, this study aimed to explore student pharmacists' perceptions of deprescribing in the pharmacy curriculum. This qualitative study was conducted with student pharmacists enrolled in three Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) programs in the US. The participants, all student pharmacists at the time of the study, were identified via an email requesting their voluntary participation in a focus group study. The focus groups were conducted via an online platform over three months in 2022, and recruitment continued until thematic saturation was obtained. Using thematic analysis, the corpus of the transcribed data was imported into Dedoose, a qualitative software that facilitated the analysis. Three themes emerged from the data: (1) the importance of deprescribing; (2) barriers to deprescribing; (3) education recommendations. The data highlight that the student pharmacists believe integrating deprescribing content into the clinical, didactic, and simulation education would help them overcome the identified obstacles. Colleges of pharmacy should consider emphasizing the importance of deprescribing in their curriculum, creating programs to assist future pharmacists in addressing the barriers to deprescribing, and adopting the suggested educational strategies to improve the deprescribing education that is offered.
在美国过去的二十年里，先前的研究主要集中在药物优化方面，包括多重用药。多重用药与多种负面结果相关，通过停用不再必要的药物可能会解决这些问题。尽管减药是药剂师角色的一个关键方面，但一些研究表明，药学专业学生对他们未来在减药方面的角色不太熟悉。因此，本研究旨在探讨药学专业学生对药学课程中减药的看法。这项定性研究是针对美国三所药学博士（Pharm.D.）项目的药学专业学生开展的。参与者在研究时均为药学专业学生，通过电子邮件邀请他们自愿参与焦点小组研究来确定。焦点小组于2022年通过在线平台进行，为期三个月，招募工作持续进行，直至达到主题饱和。采用主题分析法，将转录数据的语料库导入Dedoose（一款有助于分析的定性软件）。数据中出现了三个主题：（1）减药的重要性；（2）减药的障碍；（3）教育建议。数据表明，药学专业学生认为将减药内容融入临床、理论和模拟教育将有助于他们克服已识别的障碍。药学院应考虑在其课程中强调减药的重要性，制定计划以帮助未来的药剂师应对减药的障碍，并采用建议的教育策略来改进所提供的减药教育。
