Pharmacy Practice Research in Canada

CPhA is a strong advocate for pharmacy research, particularly pharmacy practice research in Canada. Both academic researchers and practising pharmacists are involved in pharmacy practice research. Increasingly, links are being formed with policy-makers as well, to ensure that the knowledge created by researchers is incorporated and reflected in new policies affecting pharmacy practice and health care delivery.

The Translator

The Canadian Pharmacists Association supports pharmacy practice research through a number of initiatives. The Translator is a new initiative launched by the CPhA to support the knowledge translation between pharmacy practice research and health policy. Each issue selects a number of pharmacy practice research articles, briefly summarizes them and discusses the health care policy implications. These articles are submitted by Canadian researchers who have a strong desire to support evidence-based health care policy and best practices. All issues of The Translator will be posted to our website and can be viewed below.

• Fall 2009, Volume 3, Issue 4
  Pharmacists help improve hypertension management (en français)
  
• Summer 2009, Volume 3, Issue 3
  Cancer care pharmacists (en français)
  
• Spring 2009, Volume 3, Issue 2
  Interprofessional collaboration with pharmacists improves health outcomes (en français)
  
• Winter 2009, Volume 3, Issue 1
  Making it work: Pharmacist integration into collaborative teams
  (en français)
  
• Fall 2008, Volume 2, Number 4
  Pharmacists play an important role in diabetes care and can improve patient outcomes (en français)
  
• Summer 2008, Volume 2, Number 3
  Pharmacists in the Emergency Department (en français)
  
• Spring 2008, Volume 2, Number 2
  Medication Errors, Drug Related Problems and Patient Safety
  (en français)
  
• Winter 2008, Volume 2, Number 1
  Pharmacists Role in Managing Respiratory Illness (en français)
• Fall 2007, Volume 1, Number 1
  Pharmacist Interventions in Cardiovascular Events (en français)

Canadian Pharmacy Practice Research Group

In 1999, the Canadian Pharmacy Practice Research Group (CPPRG) was created. It now comprises approximately 150 members. The aim of the CPPRG is to facilitate the generation, dissemination and application of practice-based research evidence to optimize the role of pharmacists in medication management and improved patient outcomes.

CPhA actively sponsors and supports the CPPRG through a range of initiatives including:

• participating as a strategic partner in research activity;
• communicating research findings through the annual CPhA conference, quarterly CPPRG newsletters and the Canadian Pharmacists Journal (CPJ);
• advocating for increased funding for pharmacy practice research; and
• facilitating the translation of research findings into policy and practice.

For more information about the CPPRG:

• Canadian Pharmacy Practice Research Group
• Canadian Pharmacy Practice Research Group Priorities
• Canadian Pharmacy Practice Research Project Directory

or contact:

Marie-Anik Gagné, Director of Policy and Research
Tel: (613) 523-7877, ext 225 or 1-800-917-9489
Fax: (613) 523-0445

Other Types of Pharmacy Research

The term "pharmacy research" encompasses a broad range of basic, clinical and applied research topics, and includes:

• Pharmacy practice - the professional development of pharmacists, including optimising the role of pharmacists in the delivery and use of drugs and other health care products and services;
  
  
• Clinical pharmacology - the study of drugs in healthy volunteers and in patients, including drug actions and adverse effects;
  
  
• Pharmaceutical chemistry, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics - the discovery, development, administration and use of drugs, including the action and effects of drugs in the body and new drug delivery methods (e.g., absorption, transformation, distribution to tissues, duration of action and elimination);
  
  
• Pharmacogenomics - interactions between individual patients' genetic make-ups (genotypes) and their responses to drug treatments;
  
  
• Pharmacoeconomics - application of economic tools to compare the costs of different pharmaceutical treatment regimens or to compare the costs and health benefits of drug therapy to other treatments; and
  
  
• Herbal medicine - use of herbs and other plants and products derived from natural sources, in a wide variety of forms, for their therapeutic value.

Like all academic research disciplines, pharmacy research employs scholarly and scientifically-rigorous methods of investigation, with the aim of generating research activity and research outcomes that contribute to advancing the pharmaceutical sciences, the profession of pharmacy and public health. Different types of investigative methods can be used in pharmacy research including:

Observational methods - describing phenomena as they exist, without experimental manipulation or control but using quantitative measures (e.g., naturalistic observations, surveys, correlational research)

Experimental methods - establishing causal relationships by manipulating and controlling variables (e.g., single-subject designs, cohort studies, randomised controlled trials, meta-analyses) and

Qualitative methods - identifying and describing themes or patterns, primarily using qualitative data from interviews and observational studies (e.g., naturalistic inquiries, participant observations, ethnography).