Alla El-Awaisi

Strategies for improving antibiotic use in Qatar: a survey of pharmacists' perceptions and experiences

The objectives of this study were to identify antimicrobial stewardship activities in Qatar, identify pharmacist involvement in activities and summarize perceived barriers for implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs).

Interprofessional education in the Arabic-speaking Middle East: Perspectives of pharmacy academics

ABSTRACT The current status of interprofessional education (IPE) in Arabic Middle Eastern countries is largely unexamined and there is a need to assess IPE and collaborative practice in these countries. As faculty attitudes towards IPE are believed to be one of the main factors that affect the successful integration of IPE into the different healthcare curricula, this article aims to explore the attitudes and views of pharmacy academics in Arabic-speaking Middle Eastern countries towards IPE and collaborative practice. The findings from this article are part of a larger study investigating pharmacy’s perspectives of IPE and collaborative practice in Qatar and the Middle East. An online survey which included three validated scales was used to gather information from pharmacy academics at 89 pharmacy schools in 14 countries. The response rate was 107 out of 334 (32%) and the majority of the respondents were from Jordan, Qatar, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Statistical analysis was completed descriptively as well as inferentially using a series of independent t-tests. Overall pharmacy academics had positive attitudes towards IPE. The majority of the respondents, 90.8% (n = 99), perceived IPE to be important. Age, likelihood to engage in IPE, and years of IPE experience were the factors that were related to faculty members’ attitudes towards IPE. Highly perceived barriers for implementing IPE included cultural challenges for each profession, scheduling common courses, and activities in addition to limited resources. The study findings indicated that pharmacy academics in the Middle East are ready to pursue IPE. These results can serve as impetus for implementing IPE in Middle Eastern countries.

Delivering Tobacco Cessation Content in the Middle East through Interprofessional Learning

Objective. To explore the attitudes of pharmacy, pharmacy technician, medical, and public health students before and after an IPE activity that focused on smoking cessation in the Middle East. Methods. A pre-post intervention research design using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was used for this study. The tool contained 20 items, categorized under the following subscales: teamwork and collaboration, professional identity, and patient-centeredness. Results. A total of 47 out of 50 students from four different health disciplines in Qatar (medicine, pharmacy, pharmacy technician, and public health) who participated in the activity completed a pre- and post-intervention pre-validated questionnaire (94% response rate). Total attitude scores were calculated for all the 20 items along with attitudinal scores of the three domains. Most of the students reported having a positive attitude toward IPE; the number of students having a positive attitude toward IPE increased after the IPE session. The overall median (IQR) score increased from 82 (16) before the session to 84 (15) after the session. Students from different disciplines did not vary in their attitude scores. Conclusion. Health care professional students in Qatar perceived IPE positively, believing that it enhanced their communication skills, collaboration and appreciation of professional roles. This study has implication on developing effective methods to implement IPE in various health professional education curricula.

A comprehensive systematic review of pharmacy perspectives on interprofessional education and collaborative practice.

Introduction: Pharmacists are key professionals in the collaborative working process and are integral members of the healthcare team. However, there is paucity of information regarding their perspectives towards interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice. Aims: The aim of this systematic review is to synthesise, summarise and evaluate the quality of the quantitative and qualitative literature related to the perspectives of pharmacy students, pharmacy faculty and practising pharmacists toward IPE and collaborative practice. The perspectives included their views, experiences and attitudes with a special focus on their perceived benefits and challenges in relation to IPE and collaborative practice. Methods: An integrated mixed method systematic review was conducted. Four electronic databases were searched for articles published in English between 2000 and 2015. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to assess the quality of the studies. Results: Twenty‐nine articles were identified meeting the selection criteria from the first initial search of 8512 articles. Seventeen articles (59%) targeted pharmacy students, 11 articles (38%) focused on practising pharmacists and 1 study (3%) was related to pharmacy faculty. The majority of studies were conducted in the United States (n = 13), were published in the last five years (83%, n = 24) and employed quantitative methods (52%, n = 15). The two commonly used survey instruments to measure the perspectives were: different versions of the RIPLS (35%, n = 6) and the IEPS scale (35%, n = 6). Fourteen of the 29 studies were rated as low quality (MMAT = 25%), eight studies were rated as average quality (MMAT = 50%), four were rated as high quality (MMAT 75%) and three were rated as very poor quality (MMAT 0%). No studies were rated with 100% MMAT quality. Overall, the findings suggest that pharmacy students, practicing pharmacists and faculty valued interprofessional education and collaborative practice and had positive attitudes towards it. Five main findings have been identified from this review: heterogeneity in reporting IPE research, traditional professional image of the pharmacist, lack of longitudinal follow‐up, lack of IPE research on faculty and paucity in mixed method studies in terms of quality and numbers. Conclusions: These findings will provide an opportunity to stakeholders and policy makers to develop and implement IPE activities that are meaningful, comprehensive and unique. Sustained efforts are required not just in undergraduate curricula but also in healthcare settings to improve and promote an interprofessional culture at individual and organisational level.

Perceived Preparedness of Health Care Students for Providing Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment and Management

Early assessment and management of risk factors is known to have significant impact in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its associated burden. Cardiovascular disease risk assessment and management (CVDRAM) is best approached by teamwork across health care professionals. This study aimed at assessing health care students’ (HCSs) knowledge about the parameters needed for estimating CVD risk, their self-assessed preparedness/confidence and perceived barriers for the provision of CVDRAM services through a survey administered to third and fourth year pharmacy, medical, and nursing students in Qatar. Although all student cohorts achieved similar knowledge scores, less than half (n = 38, 47%) were able to identify all of the six main risk factors necessary to estimate absolute CVD risk, and a third (32%) were unable to identify total cholesterol as an independent risk factor necessary to estimate CVD risk. Training on the use of CVD risk assessment tools differed among the three student cohorts. All student cohorts also perceived similar levels of preparedness in CVDRAM. However, pharmacy students reported the highest preparedness/confidence with the use of the latest CVDRAM guidelines. The majority of statements listed under the barriers scale were perceived by the students as being moderate (median score = 3). Poor public acceptance or unawareness of importance of estimating CVD risk was the only barrier perceived as a major by nursing students. Future integration of interprofessional educational (IPE) activities in the CVDRAM curricula of HCSs may be a suitable strategy to minimize barriers and foster collaborative practice for the provision of CVDRAM services in Qatar.

Perspectives of pharmacy students in Qatar toward interprofessional education and collaborative practice: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT In an IPE environment, students are expected to have better understanding of the roles, responsibilities, and contribution of other health care professions to enhance interprofessional working and collaboration with an end result of improving patient-centred and team-based care. Although many studies have investigated students’ attitudes, very few employ a mixed methods design and hardly are from Middle Eastern countries. A two-staged sequential explanatory mixed method design was used to comprehensively capture the perspectives of pharmacy students toward IPE and collaborative practice. A quantitative survey was conducted as the first stage of the study, followed by an in-depth discussion of these perspectives through a qualitative phase by conducting two focus groups. For the quantitative surveys, the overall response rate was 102/132 (77%) for pharmacy students in Qatar. This was followed by two focus groups with a total of 27 participants from senior and junior students. In exploring the qualitative data, three main themes were identified in relation to the pharmacy students’ perspectives. These were on the pharmacy students’ perception on the enablers (professional related benefits, patient-related benefits and current positive influences), barriers (previous IPE experiences, educational related issues and current working practices and processes), and recommendations to implementing IPE and collaborative practice (future IPE and pharmacy profession). Overall, the results demonstrate a strong readiness and positive perception by pharmacy students toward IPE and collaborative practice. This study has highlighted different dimensions in pharmacy students’ perceptions. It also provided a useful insight into the readiness of pharmacy students in a Middle Eastern university. Students are seeking more IPE experiences formally incorporated into their curriculum and hence educators should capitalise on these positive and enthusiastic attitudes to identify the most effective means for delivering IPE and inform curricula planning. Collaborative practice-ready graduates will produce better-educated professionals delivering higher quality care.

Perspectives of practising pharmacists towards interprofessional education and collaborative practice in Qatar

Background Healthcare is provided by a variety of different professionals, including pharmacists who are integral members of the team, and all are expected to work collaboratively to provide quality care. Little is known about the perceptions of pharmacists in Qatar towards interprofessional collaboration. Positive attitudes towards interprofessional education are essential to successful implementation of interprofessional collaboration. Therefore, to develop effective collaboration strategies in practice settings, it was essential to survey the attitudes of practising pharmacists towards collaboration. Objective To explore the awareness, views, attitudes and perceptions of practising pharmacists in Qatar towards interprofessional education and collaborative practice. Setting Community, hospital and primary healthcare settings in Qatar. Methods This was a two-staged sequential explanatory mixed method design. It utilised a quantitative survey (Stage 1), based on a modified version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. This was followed by a qualitative stage, utilising focus groups (Stage 2). Main outcome measures (1) Qatar pharmacists’ attitudes towards interprofessional education and collaborative practice; (2) Practising pharmacists’ perspectives in relation to enablers, barriers and recommendations regarding interprofessional education and collaborative practice. Results 63% of the practising pharmacists (n = 178) responded to the survey. Three focus groups followed (total n = 14). High scores indicating readiness and positive attitudes towards interprofessional education were reported for pharmacists working in hospital, community and primary healthcare settings. Qualitative analysis identified three overarching themes in relation to the enablers, barriers and recommendations for practising pharmacists working collaboratively. The enabling themes were: professional and patient related benefits, and current positive influences in Qatar; the barriers were patients’ negative perceptions; the status of the pharmacy profession and current working practices and processes; the recommendations related to improving patients’ perceptions about pharmacists and enhancing the status of pharmacy profession in Qatar. The findings from this study highlighted two major observations: the lack of existence of collaborative practice and hierarchy and power play. Conclusion Pharmacists demonstrated willingness and readiness to develop interprofessional learning and collaborative practice with significant steps already taken towards improving collaborative working practices in different care settings.

Contemporary Professional Skills Development for Pharmacists in the Middle East

Objective. To determine professional skills development and its utility among the “bridge” curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students in the Middle East. Methods. Qatar University College of Pharmacy offers a part-time Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program for licensed pharmacists, which includes pre-internship or “bridge” courses adapted from the undergraduate baccalaureate program. Assessments for all professional skills courses delivered in the undergraduate and post-baccalaureate part-time PharmD curriculums between 2011 and 2015 academic years were inventoried. The number and nature of assignments and exams administered to both student cohorts were identified and aggregate class scores recorded. Results were compared using Mann-Whitney tests for non-parametric continuous data with significance level (2-sided) set at α <.05. Results. Twenty-seven common assessments were conducted over a 5-year period. Overall, the performance between the undergraduate and graduate students was comparable except for specific assignments and in certain cohorts. Chart note documentation skills were poor among part-time PharmD students in both professional skills years and may be attributed to lack of prior instruction or current use in practice. Conclusion. Our comparison of graduate and undergraduate student performance in a professional skills course series has reinforced its legitimacy in our part-time PharmD bridge curriculum. Such quality assurance is relevant for programs offering advanced degree training for licensed professionals to ensure ongoing alignment of student abilities with desired educational outcomes and ultimately, delivery of patient care.