Development and preliminary evaluation of a frailty education resource for community pharmacists

Problem

Early identification and proactive management of frailty in primary care may improve patient outcomes (1). Whilst previous studies conducted by the research team have highlighted the key role that community pharmacists (CPs) consider they have in assisting frail older patients with their medicines, these studies identified CPs’ lack of knowledge about frailty and its assessment (2,3). This study aimed to: (i) develop an educational resource to improve CPs’ knowledge about frailty, its assessment and methods to support frail older patients; and (ii) obtain preliminary feedback from CPs about resource content and its relevance to clinical practice.

Approach

The educational resource was developed by the research team using a systematic approach, based upon an adult learner programme planning model (4), and was piloted with two academic pharmacists. Study participants were recruited through a local multidisciplinary project focusing on improving quality of life for older people, with recruitment facilitated by a project officer. Participants were provided with a copy of the educational resource to review and an evaluation form to complete. This form collected feedback on different aspects of the resource, such as its rationale, purpose, and content. Content analysis of evaluation form data was performed and individual topic guides were created for follow-up semi-structured interviews with participants. These interviews sought to elicit further clarity on participant feedback and a narrative description of the data was produced.

Findings

Two male CPs (registered for nine and 32 years respectively) participated in the study. Both pharmacists had undertaken previous training on frailty. Participants highlighted the need for frailty education for CPs, due to their frequent contact with this patient population, and perceived CPs as having a ‘low’ level of frailty knowledge:

“I think if pharmacists were more skilled or were upskilled… even with dealing with it [frailty], we could definitely help.” (CP2)

CPs suggested the inclusion of more medication-specific information in the resource:

“I just felt a bit more [information] on how to address the medication end of things, maybe a little bit more on the solution focus is always good.” (CP1)

Participants felt that the resource was an appropriate length and that information contained within it was of a suitable level for CPs and covered topics in sufficient detail. Positive feedback was obtained from participants regarding the resource’s, aims, design and format.

Consequences

This educational resource is unique in its focus on frailty for CPs. Positive feedback was obtained from participants regarding the resource. Feedback provided by participants was particularly relevant due to the target population for the resource, their experience with frail older patients, and previous training in this area. This study has provided preliminary feedback, which may be used to further refine and develop the resource for more comprehensive evaluation in the future.