Geriatric Content in U.S. Doctor of Pharmacy Degree Curricula
Abstract
Abstract This study was a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional survey to examine geriatric content in U.S. Doctor of Pharmacy degree curricula. This study, guided by Avedis Donabedian’s structure process outcome (SPO) model for health care quality, examined the current state of geriatric content in Pharm. D. curricula and compared findings to a 2003 study (Dutta, Daftary, Oke, Mims, Hailemeskel, & Sansgiry, 2005). One geriatric pharmacy faculty member from each of the 124 U.S. pharmacy schools was invited to participate in a web-based survey to answer questions relating to geriatric content in their school’s curriculum. The existing, online, self-administered questionnaire consisting of demographic, course content, faculty capacity, and practice experience questions was modified and used to collect data. A comparative analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, and narratives. Findings suggested that while most schools are still offering geriatric content in some form and content has improved, more focus on the extent to which schools are integrating content in pharmacy education is still needed to catch up to the growing number of people 65 and older who need pharmaceutical and patient care in this country.