Research confidence, interest and experience of an Australian hospital pharmacy population

Abstract

Background: There are few publications evaluating the research experience of hospital pharmacists in Australia. Aim: This study evaluated the research interest, confidence and experience of an Australian hospital pharmacist population. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in a health service. Demographic information was collected and study participants completed a validated questionnaire to evaluate their interest, confidence and experience in research. Differences between overall levels of interest, confidence and experience were evaluated using non-parametric analysis of variance (ANOVA), whereas relationships of these with demographic variables were explored with multilinear regression. Participants listed the number of times they completed a range of research-related tasks, as well as barriers to and support for participating in research. Results: Pharmacists exhibited high levels of interest in research but had comparatively lower levels of confidence and experience (p < 0.017 for all). Pharmacists undertook most of the research tasks less than five times in the past 5 years. Research interest was associated with qualifications and belief that research can influence practice (r 2 = 0.175, p < 0.05); research confidence was associated with qualifications and gender (r 2 = 0.405, p < 0.05); research experience was associated with years of experience and qualifications (r 2 = 0.380, p < 0.01). Time was the most common barrier to participation in research. The level of departmental support was high, but one-third of participants declined to answer this question. Conclusion: Research interest, confidence and experience were associated with possession of a postgraduate research qualification. Pharmacy professional organisations, pharmacy departments and educational institutions should consider ways to encourage pharmacists to complete a postgraduate qualification.

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

“…Among Canadian critical care pharmacists, having a PharmD, PhD or completing a speciality residency was associated with an 11‐fold increase in the odds of participating in research 14 . Similar findings were reported among Australian hospital pharmacists with post‐graduate qualifications more likely to be involved in research, 18 and in Qatar where after adjusting for sex and time since completion of undergraduate degree, post‐graduate qualification was associated with readiness to be engaged in research 16 …”

“…In the same study, pharmacists with previous research experience were more likely to enjoy reading research papers, be confident in evaluating research findings, designing a research study, acknowledge the opportunities available for them to participate in research, and indicate they have the necessary skills to do research 17 . Lack of prior research experience was perceived as a barrier to research participation by 35% of pharmacists in Waddell and Semciw’s study 18 …”

“…Although the studies by Sarwar et al 15 . and Waddell and Semciw 18 found male sex and years of experience to be significantly associated with increased research confidence and motivation, neither of them adjusted for potential confounders, such as post‐graduate qualifications. When Stewart et al 16 .…”

“…Nine studies met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were included in this review (Figure 1). 10–18 The studies included a total of 1193 hospital pharmacists from six countries (Table 1). Eight of the nine studies utilised a cross‐sectional survey design and one study was a pre–post survey of hospital pharmacists’ attitudes towards pharmacy practice‐based research before and after a two‐day introductory research workshop.…”

Research interest, experience and confidence of allied health professionals working in medical imaging: a cross‐sectional survey

“…4 Some allied health professionals will also be research generators. 7 While there has been much emphasis on quantifying research skills and experience among allied health professionals such as therapists, [7][8][9] less is known about allied health professionals working in medical imaging. Traditionally, radiographers have not identified with being research generators and have viewed research as separate from clinical practice.…”