Delivery of the Dementia Friends programme on the MPharm degree course: a qualitative exploration of pharmacy students’ perspectives
Authors: Stevenson L , Yu A , Haughey S , Barry H 
Published: March 2021

Abstract

Introduction
A person-centred approach to dementia care has been advocated1, but limited literature exists on integration of this into pharmacist undergraduate education. The Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Friends programme was developed to change peoples’ perceptions and promote understanding of living with dementia. In 2019, the School piloted provision of Dementia Friends training; Level 3 MPharm students (n=102) were invited by email to participate as an optional part of a Clinical Therapeutics module. Sixty-three students (61.8%) attended the workshop, which combined Dementia Friends training with an interactive session facilitated by a person living with dementia (PLWD).

Aim
To explore undergraduate pharmacy students’ views and experiences of the Dementia Friends pilot.

Methods
All students who had attended the workshop were invited by email to participate in a focus group during February 2020. Participants provided written informed consent. The topic guide focused on students’ views of workshop delivery, improvements that could be made, their understanding of person-centred care, and the impact of the workshop on their clinical practice. The focus group was audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using thematic analysis.

Results
One focus group was conducted with eight students. Three overarching themes were identified: learning from an expert patient; importance of person-centred care; and dementia education during MPharm degree. Students valued the opportunity to learn from a PLWD and felt it allowed them to relate the condition to a real person: “it felt more personal so you could really connect with them [PLWD] and understand their experience”. Hearing about the ‘lived experience’ helped to contextualise learning from other methods of delivery, e.g. lectures: “you don’t know what’s going on in someone else’s life, and sometimes we’re all a bit quick to judge, I think [the workshop] put that into perspective”. Students described having greater understanding of person-centred care and taking a holistic approach to pharmaceutical care provision for PLWD: “it’s very important to take into account their quality of life…we can focus on the clinical but looking at the person as a whole actually helps their treatment” and “one of the things I found most interesting was that they might not remember the interaction but they will [retain] the feeling or emotion”. Students reported feeling more confident in engaging with PLWD following the workshop, which is something they would not have had the opportunity to learn from lectures alone: “If we hadn’t had that dementia training, I feel like I would still have no confidence chatting to dementia patients”. Students suggested that future Dementia Friends training should be delivered earlier in the MPharm degree course.

Conclusion
This study has shown that Dementia Friends training complemented students’ existing knowledge of dementia and increased their confidence to communicate with PLWD. The use of an expert patient was an effective way of supporting MPharm students to develop a person-centred approach to their professional practice. The study was limited to one university so findings may not be generalisable. However, these data provide a good basis for future development and evaluation of Dementia Friends training provision to MPharm students.

References
1. Kitwood, T. M. Dementia reconsidered: the person comes first. 1997. Buckingham [England], Open University Press