Usefulness and knowledge outcome of an in-service short course training “The development of primary care pharmacy practice”

Abstract

Introduction: In 2009 the National Health Security Office zone 7 (NHSO 7) and Khon Kaen University had organized an in-service short course training in order to equip pharmacists with necessary knowledge and skill in delivering service at primary care level. Objectives: This study aimed to (1) identify trainees’ opinions toward the usefulness of the course, (2) evaluate their knowledge and (3) collect their suggestions for the course improvement. Methods: A trainee group comprised 63 pharmacists who were in charge of primary care pharmacy practice and worked in the catchment area of the NHSO 7, i.e. Khon Kaen, Kalasin Mahasarakram and Roi-et. Secondary data, obtained from training organizers, were used for analysis. Usefulness of the course were measured with 3 items, i.e. the extent to which the contents met the demand of the trainees, the extent to which the contents in the course can be adapted to the real world practice, and the worthiness of the time being spent to attend the training. Respond options were 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (the least) to 5 (the most). Perceived knowledge were measured with 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (need to be improved) to 5 (excellence). Actual knowledge of 7 topics was measured with test questions. The highest possible score for each topic was 10. The total score was 70. Suggestions were collected with an open end question. Results: The mean score of the extent to which the contents met the demand was 4.4 (SD 0.7), of the adaptability was 4.4 (SD 0.7), and of the worthiness was 4.5 (SD 0.7). The mean score of the perceived knowledge before the training was 2.9 (SD 0.8) and after the training was 4.2 (SD 0.7). The mean knowledge score, from the test, was 43.4 (SD 8.8). The main suggestion was to having field practice in addition to the in class activities. Conclusion: Although trainees were of the view that the course was useful and that they gained more knowledge after the completion of the training, the results from the test showed that trainees’ knowledge were still at moderate level. It is suggested that there is a need to modify techniques used to transfer knowledge.