Evaluating Pharmacy Student Perspectives and Attitudes Towards Compliance Aids and Devices Through Health Disparity Simulation.

Objective: This study intends to evaluate simulated experiences provided to pharmacy students that directly compare the perspective of patients managing chronic disease states through traditional means without compliance aids to those using compliance aids, such as continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and other devices.

Methods: This simulation was conducted with third-year pharmacy students enrolled in the ambulatory care elective course at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. It was designed to simulate a patient responsible for self-administering an array of medications for multiple chronic diseases that the students are likely to encounter during clinical practice. For the first week, students were tasked with adhering to a complex medication schedule from their associated pill bottles without the use of compliance aids (pill organizers, alarms, etc.) and checking their blood glucose twice daily using a traditional glucometer. In the second week, students continued the role of the patient; however, they were provided with compliance aids and encouraged to set alarms and use CGMs. Using a questionnaire developed based on the traditional Likert scale model, the students were able to quantify their experiences in a way that allowed the investigators to observe any changes.

Results: Regarding the overall implications of this experience, most participants (>80%) agreed that this project increased their understanding of the value of compliance aids and devices and encouraged them to not only incorporate them into their future patient care plans but also advocate for accessibility to improve health outcomes.

Conclusion: Students who completed this experience reported better adherence to chronic disease state control using compliance aids and, in turn, the applicability of the use of compliance aids in managing those with complex medication regimens. This simulation may encourage future pharmacists to incorporate compliance aids with their patients to improve health outcomes.