The Impact of University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Student Projects on Education, Professional Practice, and the Community: A Retrospective Review

Abstract

Specific Aims: To describe the impact University of Arizona College of Pharmacy (UA CoP) student projects have on education, professional practice, and the community. Subjects: Quality improvement (QI) and senior research projects conducted by UA CoP students who completed their education in May 2020 were included in the review. Methods: Project data were collected from posters, written reports, and slide presentations by independent reviewers using a data extraction form mapped to five Buxton and Hanney Payback Framework (PF) categories: (1) knowledge production; (2) benefits to future research; (3) benefits to policy and product development; (4) benefits to health and health systems; and (5) broader economic benefits. Descriptive and demographic data were also collected and summarized. Main Results: A total of 104 student pharmacists from the UA CoP Phoenix and Tucson campuses participated in and completed 73 projects. Impact category observations included knowledge production (33%), benefits to future research (3%), and benefits to health and health systems (11%). Student projects covered various topics targeting a range of audiences. Eleven percent of projects implemented interventions demonstrating statistically significant results. Four percent of projects found secondary outcomes which may be of value for further research. Conclusions: Projects conducted by UA CoP pharmacy students were associated with benefits to education, professional practice, and the broader community, demonstrating that student projects have benefits beyond the usual academic outcomes of poster presentations and publications. Further research is needed with continued refinement of existing frameworks to comprehensively assess the impact of pharmacy student research projects.