Long-term evaluation of a train-the-trainer workshop for pharmacy faculty using the RE-AIM framework

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Public Health
• Tobacco Cessation

Background:

• Two-thirds of tobacco users want to quit, yet pharmacists infrequently address tobacco use in practice.
• Pharmacy schools historically provided insufficient tobacco cessation training for students.
• Train-the-trainer workshops (2003-2005) trained 191 pharmacy faculty to deliver a national tobacco cessation curriculum.

Purpose of the Study:

• Assess faculty perceptions of tobacco cessation training workshops.
• Evaluate the long-term reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) of a shared curriculum in pharmacy schools.

Main Methods:

• Phase 2 of a sequential mixed-methods study.
• Web-based survey administered to train-the-trainer participants, informed by Phase 1 qualitative data.
• RE-AIM framework applied to survey development and analysis.

Main Results:

• 111 of 137 (81.0%) faculty completed the survey; 78.4% were in academia.
• 98.1% reported moderate/high confidence in teaching tobacco cessation; 70.6% of clinicians asked patients about tobacco use frequently.
• Faculty believed shared curricula are cost-effective and should be broadly adopted (79.0% agreement).

Conclusions:

• The Rx for Change program shows sustained reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance.
• Faculty reported positive long-term impacts on their careers, teaching, and clinical practice.
• The training initiative successfully addressed educational gaps in tobacco cessation for pharmacists.