Socialized and traumatized: Pharmacists, underserved patients, and the COVID-19 vaccine.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought attention and awareness to existing health disparities in underrepresented minority communities. Not only were minoritized populations disproportionately and negatively affected by COVID-19, but a history of mistrust and other systemic barriers prevented access to treatment and testing and even affected access and acceptance of the current vaccines. Pharmacists are essential to the provision of care for the general population, particularly during global crises. Minoritized pharmacists play an even greater role as partners with public health officials to translate science and build trust in minoritized community members who are hesitant about vaccine development, safety, and efficacy. Dedicated to representing the views and ideals of minority pharmacists on critical issues affecting health care, the National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA) has been at the forefront of the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, NPhA has prioritized the role of underrepresented practitioners, striving to improve awareness and access to underrepresented communities. While delivering education and information about the COVID-19 vaccine, clinical trials, population prioritization, and federal funding to our service areas and target populations, NPhA continues to challenge health care myths and address historical conflicts and systemic racism that often dictate the access to treatment and quality health care.

Brigatinib: Novel ALK Inhibitor for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: We review here the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, dosage and administration, potential drug-drug interactions and place in therapy of brigatinib for abnormal anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) specific non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). DATA SOURCES: A literature search using PubMed was conducted using the terms brigatinib and ALK positive NSCLC from January 2013 to November 2018. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All English-language articles evaluating brigatinib were analyzed for this review. DATA SYNTHESIS: Brigatinib was granted approval for the treatment of patients with metastatic ALK+ NSCLC who have progressed on or are intolerant to crizotinib. It is administered at a dose of 90 mg orally once daily for the first 7 days then, if tolerated, increased to a dose of 180 mg orally once daily. Common adverse effects include nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, increased creatine phosphokinase levels, headache, dyspnea, and hypertension. Serious treatment-emergent adverse effects were pulmonary related. Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: This article discusses the clinical trials that led to the accelerated approval of brigatinib for its ability to overcome crizotinib-resistant mutations and for its increased central nervous system penetration properties. CONCLUSION: Brigatinib was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with metastatic ALK+ NSCLC who have progressed on or are intolerant to crizotinib. In a subset of NSCLC patients, brigatinib increases survival for approximately 1 year; however, side effects were detected.

Understanding of Medication Directions: Assessment of Native Korean Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: Investigate the knowledge and understanding of older adult Korean immigrants concerning prescription and over-the-counter medication directions. DESIGN: A pre- postsurvey study. SETTING: Four Korean churches located in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. PARTICIPANTS: Korean-born, community-dwelling older adults older than 50 years of age. INTERVENTION: A presurvey in English was administered to older Korean immigrants residing in the Northwest Chicago suburbs, who completed it independently. Two student pharmacists then conducted a short medication seminar in Korean, and a postsurvey was given to determine if the information improved their overall understanding about the medications. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary goal of this study was to determine if Korean older adults' understanding of medication directions improved when explained in their native language. RESULTS: After two student pharmacists delivered the seminar, there was an improvement in both the participants' understanding of medication directions and their perceived trust in pharmacists. CONCLUSIONS: There is a lack of understanding of medication directions by Korean immigrant older adults, even when information is communicated in their native tongue. This research demonstrates that educating the Korean older adult population, while also building a relationship of trust with pharmacists, will improve their understanding of the medication directions and possibly reduce the rate of medication errors.

Global pen pal education intervention among student pharmacists: A pilot project.

INTRODUCTION: Global health, a practice that prioritizes improving health and achieving health equity for all people worldwide, is a priority for pharmacists, schools, and pharmacy colleges. Several initiatives aim to enhance faculty and student exchanges while promoting projects and initiatives among thriving universities and under-resourced countries and institutions. While many organizations recognize the benefit of global collaboration, as demonstrated by the adoption of the 2012 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Strategic Plan, which calls for increased global experiences for faculty and students, the COVID-19 pandemic created a demand for international engagement within pharmacy practice. The objective of this study was to evaluate students' perceptions and attitudes toward incorporating a global pharmacy pen pal (PPP) exchange within the pharmacy curricula at two schools/colleges of pharmacy. METHODS: This mixed-method study included assigned engagement within a required or elective didactic course, followed by a post-experience survey. Each student was pre-assigned a pen pal from a cohort of pharmacy students residing in 11 countries for the assignment. RESULTS: In total, 184 students completed the learning experience, and across both sites, 63 students completed the post-experience survey. The students' impressions of the PPP varied by site, yet most participants reported an improved awareness of pharmacy practice in other countries.

Experiential education accommodations for students with disabilities in United States pharmacy schools: An exploratory study.

INTRODUCTION: We sought to identify challenges and possible outcomes for pharmacy schools providing accommodations on experiential rotations for students with disabilities. METHODS: A survey was developed and sent to the experiential education departments of pharmacy schools across the nation and anonymous responses were collected. Quantitative survey results were assessed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative results were assessed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 43 individuals who self-identified as current members of the experiential education department of their school responded to the survey. Student, preceptor, and institutional challenges and barriers were identified, and various approaches to providing accommodations for students with disabilities during experiential rotations were described. CONCLUSIONS: Providing accommodations for students on experiential rotations remains a challenge for pharmacy programs. However, guidance for pharmacy schools on proper support of students with disabilities on experiential rotations remains limited.

Conceptualizing Social Ecological Model in Pharmacy to Address Racism as a Social Determinant of Health.

Racism has been declared a public health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted inequities in the US health care system and presents unique opportunities for the pharmacy Academy to evaluate the training of student pharmacists to address social determinants of health among racial and ethnic minorities. The social ecological model, consisting of five levels of intervention (individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy) has been effectively utilized in public health practice to influence behavior change that positively impacts health outcomes. This paper adapted the social ecological model and proposed a framework with five intervention levels for integrating racism as a social determinant of health into pharmacy curricula. The proposed corresponding levels of intervention for pharmacy education are the curricular, interprofessional, institutional, community, and accreditation levels. Other health professions such as dentistry, medicine, and nursing can easily adopt this framework for teaching racism and social determinants of health within their respective curricula.

Assessment of a multi-institution integration of cultural competency activities.

INTRODUCTION: To meet educational standards and provide effective patient care, student pharmacists must be well-prepared to interact with a diverse patient population. Thus, the objective was to assess the effectiveness of four different active learning strategies in enhancing the cultural competency (CC) of student pharmacists at multiple institutions. METHODS: Across two years, eight colleges/schools of pharmacy integrated two sets of CC activities with different student cohorts (first-third professional year) that were designed to address different aspects of CC. Pre- and post-activity, a modified electronic version of the Clinical Cultural Competency Questionnaire (CCCQ) that included the addition of activity-specific questions was distributed to students. RESULTS: A total of 1009 students participated in these activities across eight colleges of pharmacy. The integration of activities resulted in significant increases in most items on three of the four subscales of the CCCQ (knowledge, skills, and encounters/situations). Items on the attitude subscale remained the same. Students also felt the activities were beneficial in addressing their intent. CONCLUSIONS: Faculty were able to incorporate these activities throughout their respective curricula with minimal time commitment and resources. The activities improved student perceptions of their CC knowledge, skills, and ability to handle encounters and situations. These activities may be useful for other institutions as they determine the best approach to improve student CC and prepare them for practice.

Jazzin' Healthy: Interdisciplinary Health Outreach Events Focused on Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

OBJECTIVES: Health-related disparities are a significant public health concern. In conjunction with a university concert series, healthcare professionals and students provided education, clinical services, and preventive care using an interdisciplinary approach to a primarily African American cohort. The objective was to assess cardiovascular risk factors and readiness to change health-related behaviors. METHODS: Six outreach events were conducted over 3 years by an interdisciplinary team including pharmacy, medicine, nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, public health, optometry, and health information technology. Clinical services, such as health screenings for glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, and body fat along with counseling on the results and smoking cessation behavioral counseling, were provided. Education initiatives addressed bone health, heart disease, HIV risk, nutrition, and access to physician care. Preventative care included vaccinations and eye exams. RESULTS: There were 285 participants that were predominantly African American (95.8 %), female (71.5 %), and age within 55-64 years (45.1 %). Hypertension (50.8 %) and obesity (65.1 %) were the most common cardiovascular risk factors. Of those advised to make health behavior changes, 76.4 % reported they planned to make changes within 1 month. CONCLUSION: These interdisciplinary outreach events provided health information and access to care in a novel setting and led to a high rate of planned health behavior changes.

The analysis of an intracerebral hematoma for drugs of abuse.

Toxicological investigations were performed on an intracerebral hematoma, antemortem blood, and postmortem blood of an individual who was found unresponsive in his home. The hematoma was found to have ethanol at a concentration of 0.05% (w/v), and benzoylecgonine (a cocaine metabolite) was also confirmed at a concentration of 0.43 mg/L by specific analysis using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). These results enabled the pathologist to record the cause of death as intracerebral hemorrhage due to acute cocaine intoxication.