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    Drug Information and Library Science

    (60) Systematic Review of Drug Information and Library Sciences Instruction in Pharmacy Education

      Co-Author(s)

    • KG

      Kayce D. Gill, MSIS

      Librarian for Health Sciences Collections, Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library
      Vanderbilt University, United States

      • Primary Author(s)

    • TH

      Timothy C. Hutcherson, PharmD

      Drug Information Center Director, Clinical Associate Professor
      D'Youville University
      Buffalo, New York, United States

      • Co-Author(s)

    • Julie Kalabalik-Hoganson, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, MPH

      Chair and Professor of Pharmacy Practice
      Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
      Florham Park, New Jersey, United States

    • Jason B. Reed, MLS

      Associate Professor of Library Sciences
      Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies, United States

    • AS

      Amy H. Sheehan, PharmD

      Professor of Pharmacy Practice
      Purdue University College of Pharmacy, United States

    • Christopher S. Wisniewski, PharmD, MSCR, BCPS

      Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy & Outcome Sciences
      Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy
      Charleston, South Carolina, United States

    Objective : The objective of this systematic review was to characterize the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) specific to drug information and library sciences (DILS) in pharmacy education and provide a comprehensive, evidence-based resource for faculty detailing published practices for content delivery and scholarly research gaps.

    Methods: Systematic searches of PubMed, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Educational Resources Information Center, Scopus, Library Literature & Information Science Full Text, and Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts were conducted from January 1997 through early February 2022. Included studies were published in English, involved DILS content, were specific to pharmacy education, were original research, and were conducted in North America. The systematic review excluded abstract-only records and studies investigating undergraduates or practicing pharmacists as participants. Duplicate records were removed.

    Results: After screening and review, 166 articles met eligibility criteria, 60% (n=100/166) of which were published in the last 10 years. Most studies focused on literature evaluation (45/166, 27%), fundamentals of drug information (43/166, 25%), evidence-based medicine (21/166, 13%), and resource utilization (21/166, 13%). Research subjects were mainly pharmacy students (77%) and 80% of research included authors who were pharmacists. Assessment techniques used primarily focused on student perception (61/166, 37%), followed by summative assessment (46/166, 28%), other (25/166, 15%), and formative assessment (18/166, 11%).

    Conclusions: This systematic review identified a robust collection of literature examining the education of DILS to pharmacy learners. Areas for continued research of DILS content include evaluating under-represented educational domains (i.e., systematic approach, response development and provision, literature searching, study design), using librarians more in SOTL research, and using formative and summative assessments as outcomes.