Integrating social determinants into pharmacotherapy courses: A case-based learning approach

The recognition of social determinants as major drivers of health outcomes has important implications for health care providers, including pharmacists. It is therefore imperative that providers have the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes to adequately address the contributions of social dete...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Currents in pharmacy teaching and learning 2022-11, Vol.14 (11), p.1438-1447
Main Authors: Okoro, Olihe N., DeVuyst-Miller, Susan A., MacDonald, Danielle A., Montag-Schafer, Katherine G., Pereira, Chrystian R., Schweiss, Sarah K., Yapel, Ann M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case-based learning
Curriculum
Education, Pharmacy
Humans
Patient cases
Pharmacists
Pharmacotherapy
Pharmacy education
Social Determinants of Health
Students, Pharmacy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The recognition of social determinants as major drivers of health outcomes has important implications for health care providers, including pharmacists. It is therefore imperative that providers have the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes to adequately address the contributions of social determinants of health (SDOH) alongside the impact of medical care on health and treatment outcomes. Case-based learning is a common practice in pharmacy education. Patient cases used in pharmacotherapy courses typically highlight clinical parameters and quantitative indices, often to the exclusion of sociocultural contexts. In actual practice, pharmacists (and other health care providers) must consider both clinical information and the context of SDOH in order to deliver responsive and effective patient care. The aim of the project was to build patient cases that reflect both aspects. The intent is to use these cases in the core pharmacy curriculum to teach students how to concurrently consider both clinical and social elements in patient care. Eleven pharmacists and educators participated in three work groups to develop 10 cases for pharmacotherapy courses in cardiovascular disease, diabetes management, and mental health. Two of the cases were facilitated with fourth year students on advanced pharmacy practice experiences. Feedback from case developers and students highlights features of the cases that lend them to utility in the pharmacy curriculum. The integration of SDOH in patient cases provides opportunity for students to build the relevant competencies that will enable them to provide holistic patient care.
ISSN:1877-1297
1877-1300
DOI:10.1016/j.cptl.2022.09.023