CEDARVILLE, OHIO, Feb. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Andrew Straw, an assistant professor of pharmacy practice, along with two of his Cedarville University pharmacy students, recently developed a smoking cessation curriculum for use in pharmacies nationwide. The innovative project is in conjunction with Cedarville’s Center for Pharmacy Innovation (CPI) and the Ohio Pharmacists Association (OPA).
This training, which guides pharmacists in preparing their practices to administer smoking cessation services, was used to support testimony promoting pharmacist-led smoking cessation services in Ohio’s 2022-23 budget bill. This legislation streamlined the process for pharmacists to order nicotine replacement therapy and over-the-counter treatments without a prescription and in partnership with a doctor.
Administering the grant that funded this project was Dr. Myriam Shaw Ojeda, assistant professor and director of pharmacy extension and public health initiatives at the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and the Ohio Pharmacists Association. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2019 from Cedarville and then served until 2021 as a fellow for policy and innovation at OPA.
Shaw Ojeda and OPA partnered with Cedarville to create the training resources. Dr. Justin Cole, chair and associate professor of pharmacy practice and CPI director, helped facilitate the partnership. Straw used his experience working at the Rocking Horse Community Health Center in Springfield, Ohio, to develop the curriculum.
As part of the development process, Straw taught the virtual curriculum. Others who taught the material include Dr. Erin Hanson, then a pharmacy resident at Rocking Horse, and Dr. Katie Perry, then a community pharmacy practice research fellow at Cedarville.
Two Cedarville pharmacy students and CPI interns, fourth-year student Matt Merical of Centerville, Ohio, and first-year student Luke O’Brien of Powell, Ohio, researched pharmacy practices in other states to determine how they implement smoking cessation programs. They also promoted the program and assessed pharmacists on how helpful they found the program.
On the advocacy front, Shaw Ojeda testified before the finance committee of the Ohio House of Representatives before the budget bill vote. She also provided written feedback of the rules around the legislation to the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy by affirming the positive role pharmacists could play in offering smoking cessation services.
Pharmacists from across the United States have already benefited from this smoking cessation training.
“Our pharmacists are trained and highly qualified to provide for our patients,” Shaw Ojeda said. “A lot of our pharmacists just need the tools to know what they can recommend and even how to set up their pharmacies, so they have the time to provide these services.”
The educational resources include three one-hour sessions, which are available for pharmacists and pharmacy students to purchase at ohiopharmacists.org under the “Continuing Education” page. To hear more from Straw, Shaw Ojeda, Merical and Cole on developing the smoking cessation curriculum, listen to Episode 14 of the CPI’s DISRxUPT podcast.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,715 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including the Doctor of Pharmacy program, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.
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