Ensuring Equity and Inclusion in Virtual Care Best Practices for Diverse Populations of Youth with Chronic Pain.

Poor access to care is a top patient-oriented research priority for youth with chronic pain in Canada, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these concerns. Our patient-oriented project team engaged with marginalized and racialized youth with chronic pain (Black youth with sickle cell disease, Indigenous youth and youth with complex medical needs) and their families to ensure that best practice recommendations for virtual care are inclusive and equitable. Input provided through virtual round-table discussions improved recommendations for leveraging, implementing and selecting best platforms for virtual care for youth with chronic pain and identified new gaps for future research, practice and policy change.

A Canadian perspective of pharmacy education for students belonging to diverse groups.

BACKGROUND: Attention to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is on the rise in Canada, the United States, and the world. While there are evolving efforts across various sectors, post-secondary institutions, in particular, are growing in EDI efforts. For health professional programs, including pharmacy, health disparities are addressed and improvements in health care are realized when faculty are committed to EDI in hiring, admissions, and teaching and learning. To inform the direction and highlight the importance of further EDI research, programming, and evaluation, this paper analyzes the existing literature in pharmacy education and the education of diverse groups. METHODS: Several databases were searched, resulting in 17 articles of varying scopes (e.g., reviews, commentaries, reports) that capture principles of pharmacy education for diverse or marginalized students. While other articles were screened for inclusion, the concepts of culture, equity, diversity, and inclusion were presented as part of classroom and curricular topics (e.g., learning about the topics) and did not contain mention or evaluation of the education of diverse or marginalized students in pharmacy. RESULTS: Pharmacy education literature for diverse and/or marginalized student groups is limited. While significant publications exist regarding pharmacy education about EDI, little attention has been given to how pharmacy programs and educators may adapt their teaching and learning practices, policies, procedures, and admission processes to move beyond the status quo. IMPLICATIONS: Findings from this review will better inform pharmacy education programs to engage in the research and practice of conscious continuous improvement of safe spaces for diverse pharmacy students.

The Role of the Pharmacist in the Care of Patients with Chronic Pain.

Pharmacists across the healthcare continuum are well positioned to collaborate with patients to effectively manage their chronic pain. Evidence supports positive outcomes when pharmacists undertake these roles; however, there are barriers preventing uptake across the profession. This paper aims to expand awareness of the breadth of these roles, including pharmaceutical care provision, interprofessional collaboration, pain and medication education, support for patients in self-management and acceptance of responsibility to be culturally responsive and decrease stigma. Pharmacists are accessible healthcare professionals and can improve the care of patients with chronic pain.

Decolonizing and Indigenizing pharmacy education in Canada.

BACKGROUND: An emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion is growing within the field of education, including health professions education. In particular, no published literature exists regarding decolonizing and Indigenizing pharmacy education. Post-secondary pharmacy programs in Canada have a unique opportunity to learn from the decolonizing and Indigenizing practices observed in the educational programs of other health professions and post-secondary institutions and become international leaders in this area. METHODS: Literature searches on PubMed, MEDLINE, ERIC (Ovid), iPortal, and PsycINFO were performed, revealing zero articles on decolonizing and/or Indigenizing pharmacy education. Search terms were expanded to include all health professions education programs with published literature on decolonizing and Indigenizing practices. All publications that included either or both terms (decolonizing and/or Indigenizing) and within any realm of health professions education (e.g., curriculum, assessment, evaluation, instructional design) were reviewed. RESULTS: Literature on decolonizing and Indigenizing health professions education in health disciplines, such as nursing and speech pathology, were reviewed. In conjunction with literature on decolonization and Indigenization of education, with a focus on post-secondary institutions, a number of strategies are proposed to decolonize and Indigenize pharmacy education. IMPLICATIONS: Findings from this review will better inform post-secondary pharmacy education programs to engage in decolonization and Indigenization practices. Engaging in decolonization and Indigenization of pharmacy education is expected to not only improve the educational experience of Indigenous students in pharmacy programs, but also improve the care received by Indigenous patients from all graduates of pharmacy.

Non-adherence in type 2 diabetes: practical considerations for interpreting the literature.

The rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes poses a serious threat to human health and the viability of many health care systems around the world. Although several prescription medications can play a vital role in controlling symptoms and preventing complications, non-adherence to these therapies is highly prevalent and has been linked to increases in morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. Although a vast array of significant adherence predictors has been identified, the ability to explain or predict non-adherence with known risk-factors remains poor. Further, the definitions, outcomes, and various measures used in the non-adherence literature can be misleading for the unfamiliar reviewer. In this narrative review, a practical overview of important considerations for interpreting adherence endpoints and measures is discussed. Also, an organizational framework is proposed to consider published adherence interventions. This framework may allow for a unique appreciation into areas of limited knowledge and thus highlights targets for future research.