Developing school-pharmacist partnerships to enhance correct medication use and pain medication literacy in Taiwan

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the health promoting school (HPS)-community pharmacist partnership program that promotes students' correct medication use and enhances pain medication literacy in Taiwan. Design: Pre- and post-studies and intervention/comparison group comparisons. Setting: Primary and middle schools, along with their communities, in Taiwan. Participants: In 2013, baseline and follow-up self-administered, online surveys were received from 5,373 students enrolled in intervention primary and middle schools and from 4,643 students enrolled in comparison primary and middle schools. Main outcome measure: The level of medication literacy, including correct medication use knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills. Results: The development and implementation of the HPS-community pharmacist partnership program in primary and middle schools significantly enhanced students' knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills in correct medication use and pain medication literacy (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The HPS-community pharmacist partnership had a positive impact on enhancing correct medication use and pain medication literacy in Taiwan.