Developing mental health education: “It is a subject where most pharmacists [or pharmacy] students have no more knowledge than the general public”
Authors: Macfarlane H , Strawbridge J , Gorton H C 
Published: April 2022

Introduction

With one quarter of people in the UK reporting a mental health problem, pharmacists have a vital role in mental health care. We previously explored pharmacy students’ views on the value of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training in preparing them to provide mental health care. (1) Within the questionnaire, students were given opportunity to discuss their experiences of mental health teaching and learning. The large amount of rich data generated lent itself to separate qualitative analysis.

Aim

To understand the main themes in pharmacy students’ reflections on mental health and pharmacy.

Methods

An anonymous, online questionnaire was distributed in February 2020.The original aim was to establish the attitudes and experiences of pharmacy students (n=232) in the UK and Ireland in relation to Mental Health First Aid Training (MHFA). Students across all year groups in the MPharm were invited, and 70% of respondents were in year 3 or 4. Students from eighteen universities responded, of which 80% were female. (1) Participants were also asked open questions to enable explanation and further expansion on their answers both about MHFA and about mental health and pharmacy generally. Comments ranged from short phrases to full paragraphs. These data were analysed by two authors (HG and HM), following Thematic Analysis as outlined by Braun and Clarke (2) and adopting an interpretivist approach. Authors read and re-read open comments to develop understanding of the main themes discussed when students reflected on MH teaching, their own learning and the anticipated value of this in professional practice. To ensure rigour, the authors initially undertook their analysis separately and then agreed on the themes which best described the data. A third author, JS, reviewed the coding, agreed the proposed themes and revised subthemes.

Results

The identified themes were i) Mental health is important; ii) Pharmacists’ role and iii) So, teach me. Overall, students identified that ‘mental health is extremely important and often overlooked’. Most identified that pharmacists have a central role in mental health support and that mental health ‘needs to have a more important place in pharmacy than it does at the moment’. Students highlighted ‘concern[s] about communicating with mental health patients’ and managing ‘difficult situations’. They wanted to learn more about mental health and wanted this embedded across curricula. There was a fourth, crosscutting theme: stigma. Participants acknowledged the existence of stigma but felt it was reducing. Data included examples of othering, referring to people with mental illness as ‘them’ not ‘us’.

Conclusion

This study is the most contemporary, pan-university study of mental health in MPharm curricula in recent times. The potential for bias, given participants elected to engage in a questionnaire about MHFA was something borne in mind during analysis. Pharmacy students identified mental health to be an important aspect of health, where stigma still exits. Students recognised their potential future contribution in mental healthcare. It requires focus in pharmacy degrees which could ultimately support increasing pharmacists’ involvement in mental health.

References

(1) Gorton, H.C., Macfarlane, H., Edwards, R. et al. UK and Ireland survey of MPharm student and staff experiences of mental health curricula, with a focus on Mental Health First Aid. J of Pharm Policy and Pract14, 73 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40545-021-00364-1

(2) Braun V, Clarke V. Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide For Beginners. London: Sage; 2013.