ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although pharmacists are first and foremost medication specialists and suppliers, in Australia they are also ideally positioned within the healthcare setting to encourage and support positive lifestyle choices in the community. Little has been done to assess their nutrition knowledge in over 20 years. We aimed to explore pharmacists' nutrition knowledge and associated practice and to subsequently develop and evaluate a short course to fill identified gaps. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: The General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire was revised for testing nutrition knowledge in the pharmacy setting. Once validated, the questionnaire was distributed to pharmacists using social/professional media advertising. A short course was then developed, and its effectiveness assessed on final-year pharmacy students. FINDINGS: Pharmacists' (N = 258) mean score was 89.9 out of 121 (SD = 10.6) with significant variation. Nutrition education provision in practice was provided inconsistently and was associated with how strongly participants rated their own knowledge. Most pharmacists (95.7%) agreed they are well-placed to assist in disease burden reduction through nutrition education; however, most (98.4%) felt their knowledge needed improvement. The short course was well received by participants, deemed to be appropriate in context, and resulted in a median improvement in matched scores of 14.7% (P < .001) with no significant decline in knowledge when reassessed three weeks later (P = .383). SUMMARY: Pharmacists' nutrition knowledge and practice was variable. Further education can improve knowledge without significant time outlay and is likely to improve associated counselling practices.
Subject(s)
Community Pharmacy Services , Pharmacists , Humans , Professional Role , Attitude of Health Personnel , CounselingABSTRACT
WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Up to 80% of patients experience acute pain following surgery. This study aimed to improve the current understanding about the strategies individuals use to self-manage pain following discharge after surgery, stratified by pain intensity. METHODS: A prospective observational study conducted at the Royal Hobart Hospital, Australia, between November 2014 and March 2015. Eligible participants were 18 years or older and had undergone surgery requiring an incision. Patients who had undergone surgery related to cancer, childbirth or multitrauma or those with dementia were excluded. Participants were identified through hospital records and mailed a survey within 1 week of discharge. This survey asked about post-discharge pain, management strategies utilized and advice on self-management of pain provided during their inpatient stay. RESULTS: Five hundred surveys were mailed, with 169 (33.8%) being returned. The median age of the respondents was 57 years (range: 18-92 years); 53% were female. The majority (89.3%) of participants recalled receiving information about pain self-management. Analgesic use was reported by 95.4% of participants in the week following discharge. Moderate-severe pain was reported by 80 participants (47.3%); 63.7% and 11.3% of patients reported underuse and overuse of analgesics compared to what was recommended, respectively. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: A high proportion of patients underused analgesics despite experiencing moderate-severe pain. Although the vast majority of participants reported receiving advice regarding pain self-management, this did not appear to translate into optimal pain management after discharge. Different approaches to the provision of advice appear to be required.