Community pharmacy staff oral health training, training needs and professional self-efficacy related to managing children's dental problems.

OBJECTIVES: Few studies have explored the oral health training needs and professional self-efficacy (PSE) in both pharmacy support staff and pharmacists related to managing children's dental problems. This study assessed community pharmacy staff perceptions of their (i) training experiences and interests; (ii) PSE; and (iii) whether this was influenced by the pharmacy being part of a minor ailment scheme (MAS), where staff could directly offer advice and issue prescription medications without patients seeing a doctor. METHODS: All of the 1851 community pharmacies across London, UK, were invited to participate in an online questionnaire. Staff rated their prior training, perceived need for further training and confidence in giving parents advice related to three dental problems in children (dental pain, mouth ulcers and dental trauma). Information was collected about staff roles and whether the pharmacy was a MAS. KEY FINDINGS: From 752 community pharmacies, 846 community pharmacy staff participated. Positive experiences of training were variable but interest in further training for all three dental problems was high. Pharmacy support staff had significantly lower PSE scores than pharmacy professionals (P = 0.009). A significant interaction showed that pharmacy staff who had poorly rated prior training on advising parents about managing their child's dental pain and who did not work in a MAS had lower PSE scores than staff who had highly rated training and who worked in a MAS (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Minor ailment scheme pharmacies may be an optimal environment for frontline pharmacy support staff to develop higher PSE when combined with good quality oral health training.

Risk factors for ventilator-associated pneumonia: from epidemiology to patient management.

Risk factors for the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), as identified in epidemiological studies, have provided a basis for testable interventions in randomized trials. We describe how these results have influenced patient treatment. Single interventions in patients undergoing intubation have focused on either reducing aspiration of oropharyngeal secretions, modulation of colonization (in either the oropharynx, the stomach, or the whole digestive tract), use of systemic antimicrobial prophylaxis, or ventilator circuit changes. More recently, multiple simultaneously implemented interventions have been used. In general, routine measures to decrease oropharyngeal aspiration and antibiotic-containing prevention strategies appear to be the most effective, and the latter were associated with improved rates of patient survival in recent trials. These benefits must be balanced against the widespread fear of emergence of antibiotic resistance. In hospital settings with low baseline levels of antibiotic resistance, however, the benefits to patient outcome may outweigh this fear of resistance. In settings with high levels of antibiotic resistance, combined approaches of non-antibiotic using strategies and education programs might be most beneficial.