CPA presents programme insights at the 9th PCNE Working Symposium
Dr. Gizem Gülpınar, Senior Research Adviser at the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association, attended the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe’s 9th Working Symposium at the University of Basel to present four posters sharing insights from CPA’s programme work on promoting antimicrobial stewardship and the fight against substandard & falsified medicines
CPA presents programme insights at the 9th PCNE Working Symposium
Dr. Gizem Gülpınar, Senior Research Adviser at the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association, attended the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe’s 9th Working Symposium at the University of Basel to present four posters sharing insights from CPA’s programme work on promoting antimicrobial stewardship and the fight against substandard & falsified medicines
Established in 1994, PCNE is a research network with the aim of developing pharmacy practice by stimulating pharmaceutical care and pharmacy related outcome research in Europe. Its biannual Working Symposium brings together expert voices in this space to share insights, explore best practice and develop research skills that further the goal of enhancing pharmaceutical care across Europe and around the world.
CPA was delighted to present four posters at this year’s 9th Working Symposium, held at the University of Basel in Switzerland from 20 – 22 June, 2024, aligned to the conference’s theme of “Advancing the paradigm and visibility of pharmacy practice research”. Our work was presented to the Symposium by CPA’s Senior Research Adviser and Gazi University researcher, Dr. Gizem Gülpınar.
One of the studies demonstrates the pressing need for investment in professional education to support pharmacists – and other healthcare workers – to identify Substandard and Falsified Medicines (SFMs). This important research highlights interventions CPA is already working to deliver, like enhancements to our Continuous Professional Development offer and the creation of expert-led webinars, that can support pharmacists to develop a better understanding of the prevalence and dangers of SFMs.
The other three studies shared insights from the monitoring and evaluation of CPA’s programmes to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a threat to the lives of millions of people around the Commonwealth, by promoting good antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). These papers demonstrate the effectiveness of CPA’s CwPAMS (delivered in partnership with THET) and SPARC programmes, both aimed at strengthening AMS in lower & middle income countries.
The outcome evaluation of interventions in which pharmacists are involved within multidisciplinary healthcare teams was of an important topic covered at the Symposium. The CPA's unique contribution and presence - being able to share insights from big, funded programmes tackling issues like in AMS and showing how we can support pharmacists in Africa to fight AMR - was very well received!
Presenting at conferences like the 9th PCNE Symposium is one of the ways in which CPA’s research and programme teams work together to share learnings, best practice and direction for future research – ensuring that our programmes have impact not just on the ground in the Commonwealth but also in the development of pharmaceutical policy and practice across the world.
Learn more about the studies
Click on the titles to learn more about each of the four studies, or read a copy of the poster presented at the Symposium!
Gloria Tumukunde, Helena Rosado, Ayesha Iqbal, Gizem Gülpınar, Chiko Savieli, Scott Matafwali, Victoria Rutter
Substandard and Falsified Medicines (SFMs) are a growing threat to the public health of nations, with an estimated 1:10 medicines in low/middle-income countries (LMICs) thought to be substandard or a fake. This study suggests that HCWs in Africa have limited knowledge of SFMs and identifying this gap has been key in understanding educational needs to further develop effective interventions. These include a webinar series and the development of an online self-directed Continuous Professional Development course, which is currently being developed and anticipated to be delivered and evaluated in late 2024.
Maxencia Nabiryo, Frances Garraghan, Claire Brandish, Jessica Fraser*, Richard Skone-James*, Gizem Gülpınar, Ayesha Iqbal, Helena Rosado, Victoria Rutter
*On behalf of CwPAMS partner THET.
Since its launch in 2019, the CwPAMS programme has supported over 30 health partnerships between the UK & lower and middle income countries (LMICs), implementing antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and infection prevention and control (IPC) projects across eight African countries. This study finds that the CwPAMS programme contributed to health system strengthening against AMR across 8 LMICs who have partnering institutions in the UK. The next phase of the CwPAMS programme has been rolled out in March 2023 and has established 24 UK-LMIC health partnerships focusing on AMS/IPC initiatives.
Ayesha Iqbal, Gizem Gülpınar, Helena Rosado, Maxencia Nabiryo, Frances Garraghan, Claire Brandish, Victoria Rutter
As part of the CwPAMS programme, a novel application of hub and spoke model (HSM) operates across 8 health partnerships (HPs) to build antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) capacity and capability in 6 African nations (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda). This study explores how a three-phased CwPAMS implementation evaluation framework is providing programmatic support and helps identify progress as well as barriers and facilitators to delivering AMS interventions and reaching mandatory indicators via the HSM. Insights gained guide tailoring interventions and optimizing strategies to overcome contextual challenges, enhancing the delivery, uptake, integration, and sustainment of AMS interventions in real-world healthcare systems.
Meghna Joshi-von Heyden, Frances Garraghan, Bridget Kebirungi, Maxencia Nabiryo, Gloria Tumukunde, Sam Weston, Gizem Gülpınar, Ayesha Iqbal, Helena Rosado, Victoria Rutter
The SPARC programme aims to improve antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), surveillance and prescribing across 22 low/middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa (12) and Asia (10). SPARC1 was launched in January 2022, focusing on building capacity and resilience across the health workforce. Our evaluation finds that SPARC1 demonstrated strong relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency in improving AMS, surveillance and prescribing practices in participating countries. The second phase of the programme (SPARC2), launched in early 2024, aims to build on this success and lessons learnt, to deliver a programme that furthers AMS initiatives and builds sustainable resources and health workforce capacity.
About CwPAMS & SPARC
Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) and the Surveillance and Prescribing support for Antimicrobial Stewardship Resource Capacity-building (SPARC) Programme are both initiatives to tackle AMR and promote AMS. They are backed by funding from The Department of Health and Social Care’s Fleming Fund, a UK aid programme supporting up to 25 countries across Africa and Asia to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Fleming Fund invests in strengthening data surveillance systems through a portfolio of country grants, regional grants and fellowships managed by Mott MacDonald, and global projects managed by partners.
About CwPAMS & SPARC
Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) and the Surveillance and Prescribing support for Antimicrobial Stewardship Resource Capacity-building (SPARC) Programme are both initiatives to tackle AMR and promote AMS. They are backed by funding from The Department of Health and Social Care’s Fleming Fund, a UK aid programme supporting up to 25 countries across Africa and Asia to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Fleming Fund invests in strengthening data surveillance systems through a portfolio of country grants, regional grants and fellowships managed by Mott MacDonald, and global projects managed by partners.