Developing the "Upstreamist" through Antiracism Teaching in Pharmacy Education.

Area of Science:

• Health professions education
• Social determinants of health
• Health equity

Background:

• Health disparities persist in pharmacy despite efforts like cultural competency training.
• Structural racism significantly impacts patient health outcomes.
• Existing health disciplines offer models for antiracism pedagogy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose antiracism teaching as a primary strategy for addressing health disparities in pharmacy education.
• To explore theoretical frameworks and pedagogical methods for integrating antiracism into pharmacy curricula.
• To align antiracism education with pharmacy educational outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Review of theoretical frameworks and pedagogical strategies from other health disciplines.
• Analysis of existing antiracism initiatives in health professions.
• Examination of how antiracism can be incorporated into pharmacy educational standards.

Main Results:

• Antiracism pedagogy is successfully implemented in various health disciplines.
• Challenges exist in implementing antiracism curricula, but are outweighed by the need to address structural racism.
• Centralizing the discussion of structural racism is crucial for tackling health disparities.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacy education can benefit from adopting antiracism teaching as an upstream intervention.
• Student pharmacists need to understand racism as a systemic barrier to equitable patient care.
• Integrating antiracism principles enhances the focus on social determinants of health and patient-centered care.