Pharmacists’ Utilization of Information Sources Related to Community and Population Needs in the Upper Midwest and Associations with Continuing Professional Education

  • Henkel P
  • Marvanova M
N/ACitations
Citations of this article
13Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Background: To investigate information sources utilized in pharmacists’ assessment of population-based health needs and/or community changes; and the association between information sources utilized and reported completion of continuing professional education topics. Methods: In 2017; licensed pharmacists (n = 1124) in North Dakota; South Dakota; Minnesota; Iowa; and Nebraska completed a questionnaire on continuing professional education and information sources on population-based health needs and community changes. Data were entered; cleaned and imported into Stata 11.1. Census Bureau county-level population density data were used to classify local area characteristics. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Most sources of primary; county-level data on population-based health needs or community changes were minimally utilized. Pharmacists in more rural areas were statistically more likely to use local health professionals; local non-health professionals; and/or the state health department compared to pharmacists in less rural areas. Pharmacists reporting higher use of population-based information sources were more likely to have completed continuing education in the past 12 months for all 21 surveyed topics; 13 significantly so. Conclusions: There is a reliance of pharmacists on information from local health and non-health professionals for information on population-based health needs and/or community changes. Utilization of health departments and other primary information sources was associated with increased rates of completion of an array of continuing professional education topics. Expanding utilization of evidence-driven information sources would improve pharmacists’ ability to better identify and respond to population-based health needs and/or community changes through programs and services offered; and tailor continuing professional education to population-based health needs.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Henkel, P., & Marvanova, M. (2019). Pharmacists’ Utilization of Information Sources Related to Community and Population Needs in the Upper Midwest and Associations with Continuing Professional Education. Pharmacy, 7(3), 125. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7030125

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free