Innovative education approaches by geriatric pharmacists and their training needs: A systematic review

Purpose: To undertake a systematic review designed to observe the educational activities carried out by geriatric pharmacists innovatively, and also to ascertain their training needs. Methods: Articles were selected based on the following inclusion criteria: published in the years 2000 - 2019, designed as a randomized controlled trial (RCT), published in English language, contained educational activities carried out by pharmacists, and contained training requirements for pharmacists. The exclusion criteria were as follows: did not mention educational activities, only examined and assessed economic aspects, and used qualitative studies. This study analyzed nine articles from PUBMED, Scopus and Google Scholar that met the inclusion criteria. Results: Comprehensive education consisting of approaches such as interviews, discussions, case conferences, demonstrations, and goal-setting techniques provided innovations to medication review and pharmaceutical care plans. Seminar and e-learning were approaches to innovative problem-based education. Pharmacists needed training on medication review, education techniques for geriatrics, clinical collaboration, and geriatric pharmacotherapy. Conclusion: Pharmacist chose comprehensive and problem-based education approaches innovatively which require training in treatment management as well as professional relationship skills as educators, and based on the perspective of elderly needs.