Wednesday, May 18, 2022
5/18/2022
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT From 1999 to 2019, nearly 450,000 Americans died due to an opioid overdose. Pharmacists are a critical part of the public health workforce in combatting the opioid epidemic; however, insufficient training and lack of confidence are major barriers to pharmacist-provided opioid interventions. While the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy recommended providing at least 4 hours of education related to opioid use disorder (OUD), only 30% of schools report meeting this recommendation; on average, 2.7 hours of didactic instruction are provided. There is a critical need to enhance OUD education to adequately prepare pharmacists to provide opioid interventions. The long-term goal of this research is to improve patient opioid health outcomes through pharmacist-delivered interventions. The objective of the proposed work is to create a shared curriculum on OUD for future dissemination to schools of pharmacy across the United States. To achieve this objective, we propose the following specific aims: 1) characterize stakeholder perspectives on opioid-related healthcare needs and how pharmacists can address those needs through evidence-based interventions in community- based settings, 2) develop a shared OUD curriculum to prepare the future pharmacist workforce to provide evidence-based opioid interventions in community-based settings as part of routine care, and 3) develop an implementation toolkit (i.e., implementation strategies and support tools) to support dissemination of the shared OUD curriculum. Mixed methods will be applied to complete the specific aims, including focus groups and semi-structured interviews, surveys, Delphi panels, and implementation science. The shared OUD curriculum in the proposed work will be grounded in evidence-based guidelines, externally reviewed by key experts, and updated annually. The curriculum in the proposed work is innovative in that, to our knowledge, it will be the first widespread shared curriculum on OUD of its kind. Shared curricula save time and resources by reducing the need for faculty to develop and update their own educational materials. Our work is significant because of its potential to result in improved patient health outcomes through enhancing pharmacist knowledge and confidence of opioid interventions. This fellowship award proposal has been designed to position the applicant for success in becoming an independent health services researcher focused on OUD interventions in community pharmacy settings. The proposed research will provide a greater understanding of the educational needs of pharmacists to provide opioid interventions. Specific training activities proposed for the applicant include didactic coursework, seminars and workshops, and structured mentorship from the applicant’s sponsorship team. These activities will enhance the applicant’s skills specifically in the use of mixed methods and community-based research.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
