Publications by authors named "Sharon Connor"

Objective: This study aimed to identify a consensus among pharmacy educators regarding relevant social and administrative science (SAS) topic areas and their priorities within pharmacy curricula.

Methods: A modified Delphi process was conducted with members of selected American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy affinity groups as the expert panel. A total of 83 potential topic areas across 12 domains were gathered via an informal literature review.

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Background: The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes and Entrustable Professional Activities (COEPA) recognize the need for social determinants of health (SDH) education for pharmacy learners. However, there is a dearth of published strategies for incorporating comprehensive SDH education in Doctor of Pharmacy curricula. The objectives of this study were to: 1) highlight unpublished exemplars of SDH teaching models and 2) propose strategies for teaching SDH.

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Objectives: Free clinics provide care to underserved populations nationwide. The Birmingham Free Clinic offers dermatology care and operates an onsite dispensary. Little is known about specialty care services and medication optimization in the free clinic setting.

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Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an interactive photovoice activity on the perceptions of social determinants of health (SDOH) and health equity among first professional year student pharmacists.

Methods: This study used a mixed-methods exploratory approach at 4 institutions. All students completed a standardized intervention using a prerecorded lecture, active learning using photovoice, and an in-depth debriefing session.

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Introduction: While global health education in pharmacy expands, limited research has described the outcome of completing a global health area of concentration on career decisions, perceptions on cultural sensitivity, health disparity awareness, and global health competencies among pharmacists and students.

Methods: This mixed methods study enrolled 21 graduates and 17 student pharmacists who participated in a global health concentration at one school of pharmacy in the United States. Data sources included graduate interviews and surveys, student pharmacist focus groups, and global health competency self-assessments.

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Introduction: Pharmacists are in a prime position to empower patients to navigate Medicare Part D. This study aimed to determine if service-learning has a place in pharmacy student Medicare education. The primary objective of the study was to assess knowledge, attitudes, and confidence of first-year pharmacy students at Medicare focused service-learning sites compared to students at alternative sites.

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The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant disruption in students' lives through lockdowns, restricted movement, remote instruction, and mixed information. Therefore, this study aimed to capture the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of student pharmacists during 2020-2021. A 43-item COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (COVKAP) survey previously developed was administered at four schools of pharmacy across the U.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an interprofessional medical service trip to rural Honduras on pharmacy and medical learners' attitudes toward interprofessional learning. In this mixed-methods research, 19 participating students and residents from medicine and pharmacy completed the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) before and after the service trip in fall 2017 and spring 2018. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants following each trip to better understand which aspects of the experience shaped their interprofessional learning.

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Short-term medical missions (STMMs) have evolved in the past few decades to provide non-emergent care including routine and follow-up primary care for acute and chronic conditions, along with treatment of neglected tropical diseases. Many STMMs operate outside the local health care infrastructure and may have limited local partnerships. STMM outcomes in improving local population health are often inferred but not well documented.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused innumerable changes to all aspects of human life and behavior, including academic life. This study describes the development of a COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (COVKAP) Survey among U.S.

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Background: Diabetes is a growing concern in low-and middle-income countries. Medical missions play a role in increasing access to care and medicines, but often ignore non-communicable disease prevention and advanced management. Increased knowledge of local community needs and resources can lead to the development and implementation of pharmacist-supported interventions to improve diabetes management in rural areas.

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Disseminating research findings from global health collaborations is essential to advancing science. However, there are a number of ethical considerations and potential challenges to address to ensure thoughtful and non-exploitative reporting. The factors include the benefits and risks to publication, authorship criteria or values, and the accessibility of forums or journals in which to pursue publication.

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Acquiring funding for global health research within pharmacy can be challenging, particularly for new investigators who may have a strong interest in resolving global dilemmas related to health. Moreover, there can be inherent imbalances and ethical issues when navigating the funding process for global partnerships. There exists a lack of literature providing ethical guidance for mitigating dilemmas that may arise.

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To explore student pharmacists' perspectives on the value of pharmacy-related service-learning experiences focused on caring for underserved populations. Student pharmacists were required to complete a three-hour volunteer experience at a free clinic in western Pennsylvania. Reflective essays from all second- and third-year student pharmacists who participated in the required service-learning experience were deidentified.

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Article Synopsis
  • Despite the Affordable Care Act, many Americans are still uninsured and rely on free clinics for care, leading to a study on patient perceptions in Pennsylvania.
  • A survey conducted at three free clinics revealed that 58.1% of patients lack knowledge about health insurance options and face multiple barriers, including cost and resource availability.
  • The findings highlight the need for increased education on health insurance eligibility and options, with free clinics being crucial in helping patients overcome these barriers.
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Global engagement between schools and colleges of pharmacy in the United States and Africa is increasing. For a balanced and fruitful engagement, sensitivity towards the cultural and clinical needs of the people and professionals of the African region is critical. In this paper, we have divided the discussion into Southern, East, Central, and West Africa.

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Background: To address challenges related to medication management in underserved settings, we developed a system for Prescription Management And General Inventory Control, or RxMAGIC, in collaboration with the Birmingham Free Clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. RxMAGIC is an interoperable, web-based medication management system designed to standardize and streamline the dispensing practice and improve inventory control in a free clinic setting. This manuscript describes the processes used to design, develop, and deploy RxMAGIC.

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International pharmacy service trips by schools and colleges of pharmacy allow students to provide health care to medically underserved areas. A literature review (2000-2016) in databases and Internet searches with specific keywords or terms was performed to assess current practices to establish and maintain successful pharmacy service trips. Educational documents such as syllabi were obtained from pharmacy programs and examined.

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This article describes a qualitative research study using a semi-structured interview process to describe barriers surrounding medication access, use, and adherence for recently discharged patients of a federally qualified health center. Common themes which emerged were: 1) Team assumptions regarding patient plans to access or appropriately use discharge medications negatively impact adherence; 2) Unmet expectation for care coordination between primary care physician (PCP) and hospital; 3) Disconnect between patients and health care workers leads to disengagement; and 4) Lack of personal contact hinders access to services.

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Background: Smoking is highly prevalent in the substance use population and trials of smoking cessation among patients actively receiving treatment for substance use disorder have yielded modest quit rates. However, smoking cessation is not routinely provided due to the ungrounded belief it will interfere with recovery from the primary substance use problem.

Objectives: The objective of this qualitative study was to determine the perceptions of smoking cessation in a substance use population.

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The objective of this article is to describe the key areas of consideration for global/international advanced pharmacy practice experience (G/I APPE) preceptors, students and learning objectives. At the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the GPE SIG prepared and presented an initial report on the G/IAPPE initiatives. Round table discussions were conducted at the 2014 AACP Annual Meeting to document GPE SIG member input on key areas in the report.

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Introduction: The prevalence of smoking remains high among the medically underserved and could be related to disparities in access to and use of smoking cessation treatments.

Methods: This study implemented and tracked providers' use of the 5 A's intervention for tobacco use (Ask, Assess, Advise, Assist, Arrange) with homeless (n = 260) and housed (n = 226) adults attending a free medical clinic, including referrals to and use of an on-site pharmacist-led smoking cessation service.

Results: Among patients whose tobacco use was Asked about and Assessed (97%), homeless (vs.

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Objective: To determine the degree to which 3 different educational interventions enhance cultural competency in pharmacy students.

Methods: Students were equally divided among a simulated-patient activity group, a written case-scenarios group, and a formal lecture group. Mean scores for pre- and post-intervention cultural self-assessment surveys were compared.

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Background: The role of the pharmacist in safety net settings has not been well studied, specifically in meeting unmet needs of vulnerable patients with diabetes.

Objectives: To identify unmet management and medication-related needs of patients with diabetes who are receiving care in two distinct underserved practices in Pittsburgh, PA.

Methods: Individual, semi-structured interviews with patients from a free clinic (FC) and a federally qualified community health center (FQHC) in Pittsburgh were conducted.

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