A Call to Action for a Programmatic Approach to Addressing Health Disparities and Cultural Competency in Pharmacy...

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Social Determinants of Health
• Cultural Competency in Healthcare

Background:

• Pharmacy education has acknowledged health disparities and cultural competency (HDCC) for 20 years.
• Recent emphasis is placed on integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) into pharmacy programs.
• Current pharmacy curricula often lack a holistic, programmatic strategy for HDCC education despite identified needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for a holistic, programmatic approach to integrating HDCC education within Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs.
• To serve as a call to action for curricular development in pharmacy education.
• To establish a foundation for future scholarly work on programmatic approaches to HDCC.

Main Methods:

• This is a commentary advocating for a specific educational approach.
• It calls for a re-evaluation and restructuring of existing pharmacy curricula.
• The approach emphasizes a programmatic and holistic integration of HDCC concepts.

Main Results:

• The commentary highlights a persistent gap in holistic, programmatic HDCC education within pharmacy schools.
• It stresses the urgent need for PharmD graduates to possess skills for culturally appropriate patient care.
• The authors propose a framework for integrating HDCC and EDI principles into pharmacy curricula.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive, programmatic approach to HDCC and EDI education is essential for pharmacy schools.
• Integrating these principles will better equip future pharmacists to address diverse patient needs and reduce health disparities.
• This commentary urges a proactive curricular development to ensure graduates are culturally competent practitioners.