Advancing pharmaceutical practice: Promoting organizational health literacy to improve medication use through an intersectoral model based on the preventive medicine framework

IF 3.4 3区医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy Pub Date : 2025-12-01 Epub Date: 2025-08-09 DOI:10.1016/j.sapharm.2025.08.003

Francisco Javier Ferreira-Alfaya, Yasmin Cura, María José Zarzuelo-Romero

{"title":"Advancing pharmaceutical practice: Promoting organizational health literacy to improve medication use through an intersectoral model based on the preventive medicine framework","authors":"Francisco Javier Ferreira-Alfaya, Yasmin Cura, María José Zarzuelo-Romero","doi":"10.1016/j.sapharm.2025.08.003","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Health Literacy remains insufficiently developed in many populations, leading to suboptimal health outcomes and increased socio-economic burden. Despite lying at the intersection of educational and healthcare sectors, Health Literacy interventions are hindered by persistent institutional disconnect. Pharmacists, due to their accessibility and expertise in medication use, are well-positioned to bridge this gap and support intersectoral strategies to improve patient outcomes.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>This study proposes a pharmacist-led model of Organizational Health Literacy, grounded in current recommendations and identified systemic gaps.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A pharmacist-led model was developed through a narrative synthesis of the literature, incorporating current recommendations, conceptual frameworks, and identified gaps in the implementation of Organizational Health Literacy across healthcare and educational systems. The preventive medicine model by Leavell and Clark was adapted to structure the intersectoral approach.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The proposed model outlines four interconnected domains of pharmaceutical intervention: (1) integration of pharmacists into formal health education settings, (2) systematic assessment and support of patients' Health Literacy during pharmacy encounters, (3) outreach to vulnerable populations excluded from formal education systems, and (4) alignment of medication information with users’ actual Health Literacy levels to support rational medication use.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This proposed model underscores the transformative potential of pharmacy practice by expanding pharmacists’ roles as health educators and intersectoral communicators. By repositioning pharmacists as connectors between educational and healthcare systems, it offers a strategic framework to address systemic Health Literacy barriers and promote appropriate and informed medication use.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48126,"journal":{"name":"Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy","volume":"21 12","pages":"Pages 1096-1105"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1551741125004218","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/8/9 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Health Literacy remains insufficiently developed in many populations, leading to suboptimal health outcomes and increased socio-economic burden. Despite lying at the intersection of educational and healthcare sectors, Health Literacy interventions are hindered by persistent institutional disconnect. Pharmacists, due to their accessibility and expertise in medication use, are well-positioned to bridge this gap and support intersectoral strategies to improve patient outcomes.

Objectives

This study proposes a pharmacist-led model of Organizational Health Literacy, grounded in current recommendations and identified systemic gaps.

Methods

A pharmacist-led model was developed through a narrative synthesis of the literature, incorporating current recommendations, conceptual frameworks, and identified gaps in the implementation of Organizational Health Literacy across healthcare and educational systems. The preventive medicine model by Leavell and Clark was adapted to structure the intersectoral approach.

Results

The proposed model outlines four interconnected domains of pharmaceutical intervention: (1) integration of pharmacists into formal health education settings, (2) systematic assessment and support of patients' Health Literacy during pharmacy encounters, (3) outreach to vulnerable populations excluded from formal education systems, and (4) alignment of medication information with users’ actual Health Literacy levels to support rational medication use.

Conclusions

This proposed model underscores the transformative potential of pharmacy practice by expanding pharmacists’ roles as health educators and intersectoral communicators. By repositioning pharmacists as connectors between educational and healthcare systems, it offers a strategic framework to address systemic Health Literacy barriers and promote appropriate and informed medication use.

查看原文本刊更多论文

推进医药实践：通过基于预防医学框架的部门间模式，促进组织卫生知识普及，改善药物使用。

背景：在许多人群中，卫生知识普及仍然不够发达，导致健康结果不理想，社会经济负担增加。尽管处于教育和卫生保健部门的交叉点，但卫生扫盲干预措施受到持续的机构脱节的阻碍。由于药剂师在药物使用方面的可及性和专业知识，他们完全有能力弥合这一差距，并支持改善患者预后的部门间战略。目的：本研究提出了一个以药剂师为主导的组织健康素养模型，以当前的建议为基础，并确定了系统差距。方法：通过对文献的叙述综合，结合当前的建议、概念框架，并确定了在医疗保健和教育系统中实施组织健康素养的差距，开发了一个药剂师主导的模型。采用了Leavell和Clark的预防医学模型来构建跨部门方法。结果：提出的模型概述了药物干预的四个相互关联的领域：(1)将药剂师整合到正规健康教育环境中；(2)在药房就诊期间对患者健康素养进行系统评估和支持；(3)向被排除在正规教育系统之外的弱势群体伸出援手；(4)将药物信息与用户的实际健康素养水平保持一致，以支持合理用药。结论：这一提出的模型通过扩大药剂师作为健康教育者和跨部门沟通者的角色，强调了药房实践的变革潜力。通过将药剂师重新定位为教育和卫生保健系统之间的连接者，它提供了一个战略框架，以解决系统性卫生素养障碍并促进适当和知情的药物使用。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

7.20

自引率

10.30%

发文量

225

审稿时长

47 days

期刊介绍： Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy (RSAP) is a quarterly publication featuring original scientific reports and comprehensive review articles in the social and administrative pharmaceutical sciences. Topics of interest include outcomes evaluation of products, programs, or services; pharmacoepidemiology; medication adherence; direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medications; disease state management; health systems reform; drug marketing; medication distribution systems such as e-prescribing; web-based pharmaceutical/medical services; drug commerce and re-importation; and health professions workforce issues.