Pharmacy students' knowledge of sickle cell disease

Pharmacists have a vital role in sickle cell disease (SCD) management, particularly given the recent advancements in treatment options. Therefore, it is essential for pharmacy students to be knowledgeable about SCD to provide optimal care to affected individuals they may encounter. However, little is known regarding their knowledge of SCD. Thus, the objectives of this study were to: 1) describe pharmacy students' SCD knowledge and 2) determine if sociodemographic factors and previous SCD exposure were associated with their SCD knowledge.

This cross-sectional study involved first- to fourth-year pharmacy students at a Central Texas university (N = 400). SCD knowledge was assessed using a 39-item survey covering various aspects of SCD (overall and domain-specific scores range: 0-100; higher scores = greater SCD knowledge). Data were collected in September 2024 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Of the 137 participants who responded, 108 completed >75 % of the survey items, resulting in a 27 % response rate. Participants had suboptimal SCD knowledge with an overall mean score of 43.0 ± 19.2. While knowledge was suboptimal (<70) in all aspects assessed, participants were most knowledgeable regarding SCD pain (67.6 ± 31.7) and least knowledgeable regarding pharmaceutical treatment of SCD (32.6 ± 28.2). Race/ethnicity, academic year, previous encounters with individuals with SCD, and receiving SCD course content during PharmD training were associated with SCD knowledge.

Participants had suboptimal SCD knowledge, notably regarding pharmaceutical treatment. Targeted educational interventions such as including and reinforcing SCD course content in PharmD training could better prepare pharmacy students to care for individuals with SCD.