Educating Pharmacy Students about Nutrition and Physical Activity Counseling

American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. 1900 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Tel: 800-213-7193; Fax: 703-476-9527; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.aahperd.org

Y

7

Pharmaceutical Education; Physical Activities; Nutrition; Pharmacy; Dietetics; Drug Therapy; Counseling Techniques; Student Attitudes; Physical Activity Level; Health Promotion; Role; Doctoral Degrees; Eating Habits; Behavior Modification; Physical Health

1932-5037

The current study provides measures of association between self-reported beliefs of currently practicing pharmacists and pharmacy students' beliefs about, willingness to provide, and preparedness to provide counseling on nutrition and physical activity following completion of a health education unit. A 3-week health education unit focusing on the pharmacists' role in nutrition and physical activity counseling was developed and implemented in a required nonprescription drug therapy pharmacy course for fifth-year doctor of pharmacy students. As expected, the majority of pharmacy students postintervention believed that diet and physical activity health-related behaviors were very important for the average adult. Furthermore, significantly more pharmacy students believed that it was their professional responsibility to educate patients about diet and physical activity, felt more prepared to educate on diet modification and physical activity, and felt more comfortable with implementing behavioral-modification strategies to help patients achieve change than currently practicing pharmacists. The importance pharmacy students assigned to diet and physical activity health-promoting behaviors indicates that a similar health education program may help currently practicing pharmacists sharpen their skills in these areas. (Contains 5 tables.)

As Provided

24

2009

EJ852391