Attitudes, barriers and facilitators of hospital pharmacists conducting practice‐based research: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction Practice‐based research is essential in enhancing medication knowledge, quality use of medicines, the scope of the pharmacy profession and improving patient outcomes. This systematic review aims to uncover the attitudes of hospital pharmacists towards practice‐based research and their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to undertaking practice‐based research. Methods A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases from 1 January 2000 to 11 March 2021 was conducted. Peer‐reviewed empirical studies exploring hospital pharmacists’ perceptions of – as well as barriers and facilitators to – practice‐based research were included and a descriptive synthesis used to identify common themes. Results Nine studies were included in this review. Barriers and facilitators across four broad themes were related to pharmacist capacity and capability, workplace environment, research resources, and research culture. Hospital pharmacists had a high interest in conducting research, but limited research experience. Common barriers identified were lack of time, workplace support, funding, research culture, and competing priorities. Having a post‐graduate qualification and a positive attitude towards research facilitated research participation. Departmental support, designated research time and creation of research networks and forums were seen as facilitators for practice‐based research. Conclusion Hospital pharmacists recognise the importance of practice‐based research in improving knowledge, patient care and advancing pharmacy practice. However, large variation has been reported for their confidence and experience in practice‐based research. Building research capacity and capability by supporting post‐graduate research qualification, providing designated time and creating research networks may strengthen the research culture amongst hospital pharmacists.

A benchmarking scoping review of research output from hospital pharmacy departments in Australia

“…This study also identified that nearly every paper (97%) published by a hospital pharmacy department occurred in collaboration with a university. These results seem consistent with a systematic review of nine studies that identified hospitals with a university affiliation as a critical factor that improved hospital pharmacy participation in research 16 . In particular, Perreault et al 18 .…”

“…15 Dedicated research time, research training, and support from fellow pharmacists, employers, and line managers have all been identified as ways to improve pharmacists' involvement in research. 16 SHPA have also implemented multiple strategies to increase the publication rates of hospital pharmacists. This includes the introduction of the SHPA Australian Pharmacy Residency program in 2019, which includes a mandatory research project component and the recognition of Research as a SHPA Specialty Practice stream.…”

“…These results seem consistent with a systematic review of nine studies that identified hospitals with a university affiliation as a critical factor that improved hospital pharmacy participation in research. 16 In particular, Perreault et al 18 found that pharmacy departments with a university affiliation were nearly four times as likely to be involved in research when adjusting for pharmacists' training, personal interest, medical team, and administration support. Furthermore, pharmacy residency projects that had co-investigators affiliated with a university and a high h-index were also shown to increase the rates of publications.…”

“…Dedicated research time, research training, and support from fellow pharmacists, employers, and line managers have all been identified as ways to improve pharmacists' involvement in research 16 . SHPA have also implemented multiple strategies to increase the publication rates of hospital pharmacists.…”

Potential roles of pharmacists in HIV/AIDS care delivery in Nepal: A qualitative study

“…In addition, organizations such as the Global Fund and Save the Children were viewed as facilitators, as these organizations have recognized pharmacists' roles and hired them for logistic management. Similar to this study, other studies have demonstrated that pharmacists' involvement in providing care is facilitated by self-motivation, support from fellow pharmacists and the healthcare team, easy access to patients, and organizational support [38,39,43,44]. Our study indicates that lack of the aforementioned facilitators in Nepali context poses a significant barrier to pharmacists' involvement in HIV care delivery.…”