Clinical practice guidelines appraisal and utilisation by Pharm.D. students

Abstract

Objective: To assess the appraisal and utilisation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) by pharmacy final-year students. Methods: Four CPGs of 2017 were appraised by pharmacy students using the AGREE-II instrument. The utilisation of CPGs by pharmacy students was assessed using a cross-sectional survey and results were analysed using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test. Results: Of the six AGREE-II domains for CPGs, two domains were mid to high (>90%), two domains 76% each, and the last two domains <60%. The utilisation of CPGs by pharmacy students as a reference in reports/presentations were high. Students felt that they are relatively better able in lower Bloom's cognitive levels (knowledge and comprehension) than the higher abilities of application, evaluation, and creation of clinical guidelines, (p-value 0.006). Conclusions: Among AGREE-II domains, lower scores for CPGs were in editorial independence and applicability. Evaluation of CPGs by students is a useful tool to comprehend differences in their quality. More CPGs-related training in higher Bloom's cognitive levels is required for the Pharm.D. students.