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Lookup NU author(s): Mashael Alowais, Professor Hamde Nazar, Dr Clare TolleyORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2024 The Author(s). Objectives: Digital literacy is increasingly crucial in pharmacy practice, and relevant education and training are required to prepare the future workforce. This study aims to explore the current and planned inclusion of digital literacy education in the undergraduate curricula of UK pharmacy schools. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was conducted with two phases. The first involved a content analysis of published curricula from all 30 UK pharmacy schools. The second phase included a survey based on the Health Education England Digital Capabilities Framework, distributed to academic staff across all pharmacy schools. Key findings: Data from 14 pharmacy schools' curricula were included in the analysis, with 10 reporting digital literacy education. Key themes identified from the analysed documents included understanding of health informatics, applied informatics, information technology skills, and the emerging digital health technology. Nineteen respondents from 16 schools participated in the survey; digital literacy inclusion was reported by 18 participants. There was variable alignment of digital literacy competencies with the Health Education England framework. Digital literacy was mainly integrated into existing teaching sessions, predominantly through self-learning (n = 12). Electronic Health Records and remote counselling were the main focus areas within the curricula. Challenges in implementing digital literacy include a lack of expertise (n = 13), and time constraints (n = 10). Conclusions: The trend towards embedding digital literacy in UK pharmacy curricula is clear, but disparities suggest the need for a more unified strategy. Recommendations include establishing a specific digital literacy framework aligned with professional needs, improving accessibility and transparency in curricula documents, and investing in faculty development.
Author(s): Alowais M, Nazar H, Tolley C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Journal of Pharmacy Practice
Year: 2024
Volume: 32
Issue: 5
Pages: 413-419
Print publication date: 01/10/2024
Online publication date: 09/08/2024
Acceptance date: 17/07/2024
Date deposited: 17/09/2024
ISSN (print): 0961-7671
ISSN (electronic): 2042-7174
Publisher: Oxford University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpp/riae040
DOI: 10.1093/ijpp/riae040
Data Access Statement: The data underlying this article cannot be shared publicly due to the privacy of schools that participated in the study. The data will be shared on reasonable request to the corresponding author.
PubMed id: 39180520
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