The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association (PPA) has awarded grants to members of PittPharmacy for their research in various areas.
Olufunmilola Abraham, PhD, MS, BPharm and Mara Rubin, (Class of 2018), have been awarded a grant by the for their project entitled “High Prevalence of STIs Among Female Adolescents and Young Adults: Perspectives on the Role of Pharmacist Engagement and Interventions.” The purpose of this study is to understand the perspectives of female adolescents and young adults regarding Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and their preferred methods for receiving information from pharmacists. This study also aims to characterize pharmacists’ experiences and willingness to engage with female adolescents and young adults about STI prevention and appropriate medication use. Study findings will facilitate development of innovative models of care between physicians and pharmacists at UPMC Matilda H. Theiss Health Center and the Adolescent and Young Adult Clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
Joni Carroll, Pharmacist Practice Development Fellow and PittPharmacy Class of 2015, received a grant for her project titled “Utilizing Prescription Dispensing Data to Engage Prescribers in Collaborative Care with Community Pharmacists.” This project aims to understand how pharmacists can use readily available prescription dispensing data to 1) identify prescribers in their communities and 2) characterize prescribers’ patient populations to better establish collaborative relationships for mutual patients and beyond.
Community Pharmacy Resident Karen Hoang, PharmD ’16 was awarded a grant for her research proposal titled “Patient Preferences for Engagement in a Community Pharmacy-Based Diabetes Self-Management Education Program.” Effectively engaging patients is vital to improving their quality of care and ensuring patient safety. Results of this study will provide a framework for community pharmacists to further engage patients in diabetes education programs. This framework can be utilized to train pharmacists and technicians, help design programs and their implementation, and support to design interactive patient education.
