Exploring Trends in Social Vulnerability for Pharmacy Students at a Large Public University

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences
• Social Determinants of Health
• Pharmacy Education

Background:

• Social vulnerability (SV) impacts student well-being and academic success.
• Understanding SV in higher education is crucial for developing equitable support systems.
• Pharmacy programs serve diverse student populations with varying social needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze social vulnerability (SV) trends among pharmacy students.
• To assess disparities in SV based on race and ethnicity.
• To utilize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) for evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Assessed SVI using student permanent addresses from Fall 2017 to Fall 2022.
• Excluded international students and those outside the 50 US states.
• Analyzed data from 1427 eligible pharmacy students.

Main Results:

• Over half (53.4%) of students belonged to historically minoritized populations.
• The overall median SVI score indicated low/moderate SV risk (0.4091).
• Students from historically minoritized groups had higher median SVI (0.4807) and were twice as likely to be from moderate/high SV regions.

Conclusions:

• A notable percentage of pharmacy students experience moderate/high social vulnerability (SV).
• Students from historically minoritized backgrounds exhibit disproportionately higher SV.
• Pharmacy institutions must implement equity-focused strategies to support students from high SV areas.