Measuring pharmacist engagement: Development and preliminary validation and reliability of a pharmacist engagement...

Engagement questionnaires have been widely recognized as an indicator of clinician performance, workplace satisfaction, and organizational outcomes. There are several tools that measure engagement among physicians and nurses. However, no validated engagement tools exist for pharmacists, whose work environment and responsibilities differ. This gap highlights the need for a pharmacist-specific engagement tool. This study aimed to assess reliability and factor structure of the POWER Engagement Framework questionnaire.

The POWER Engagement Framework was developed to assess the professional and organizational factors that play a role in pharmacist engagement in a pharmacist-led primary care practice environment. It encompasses five core constructs derived and adapted from the literature - Potential, Opportunity, Well-being, Environment, and Resources (POWER). Pharmacists who had worked two or more shifts in the pharmacy primary care clinic in Alberta, Canada completed an online questionnaire administered via the Qualtrics Survey platform between June - September 2024. A comprehensive validation analysis was conducted which included Spearman correlation, internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).

Demographic information was available for 93/113 participants, of whom almost two thirds 61.3% (57/93) were Canadian-trained pharmacists. The overall standardized Cronbach's alpha was 0.82, indicating good internal reliability. Spearman's correlations suggest that pharmacists perceive Well-being, Environment, and Resources as important factors that will enhance their ability to excel and grow in the profession. Validity was assessed using CFA, which tested whether the data fit the hypothesized factor structure of the five constructs. The CFA largely supported the hypothesized factor structure, particularly for Potential and Environment, while Well-being and Resources exhibited weaker model fit.

This study presents the validation of the first pharmacist-specific tool to measure engagement. The POWER Engagement Framework demonstrated good reliability and conceptual coherence to assess pharmacist engagement. Refinement for Well-being and Resources constructs could improve the model.