Pharmacists' perceived knowledge, attitudes and practice in geriatrics: findings from a multinational multilingual open online survey.

purposeThis study aims to assess pharmacists´ self-perceived knowledge or competence of major geriatric topics and skills, the perceived relevance of these to work or clinical practice, and their interest in receiving further education or training.

methodsA survey was developed in English through a co-creative process that involved clinicians, researchers of the COST Action 21122 PROGRAMMING and international stakeholders from multiple professional background. It was translated into 24 languages and disseminated online. Pharmacists' perceived knowledge, relevance, and interest in 33 geriatric topics were assessed using 5-point Likert scales. The median and modal response for each topic, as well as a global topic score (relevance + interest - knowledge) were calculated. Composite scores were standardized by computing Z-scores as (global topic score - mean global topic score across the 33 topics) divided by the standard deviation of global topic scores. Topics were then ranked and categorized into quintiles.

resultsA total of 346 pharmacists across Europe, predominantly women (82.4%), completed the survey. Mean relevance and interest scores were consistently higher than self-reported knowledge across the majority of topics. Polypharmacy and deprescribing (Z score: 2.45), chronic pain (Z score: 1.31), and depression were the top-ranked training priorities. Assessing older people in emergency departments and gerodontology were the lowest ranked.

conclusionAmong pharmacists participating across Europe, self-perceived knowledge in geriatrics was consistently lower than the perceived relevance and interest across most topics, indicating important perceived educational gaps. These findings support the need to strengthen geriatric competencies within pharmacy education and professional development.