Older adults face multiple health risks, several of which are exacerbated by bone loss, malnutrition, and polypharmacy. These cause additional strain and stress for unpaid caregivers of older family members at home, most of whom are women.
In #Vietnam, community pharmacies are a critical source of medicine and advice for older people. Yet few pharmacists have received the geriatric training and guidance regarding coordination with doctors to serve their older customers optimally.
To address this gap, with support from Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government, SwipeRx offered the first training for pharmacists, designed to improve elderly healthcare at community level and ease unpaid caregiving responsibilities and stress. Together with Vietnam’s National Geriatric Hospital and the Vietnamese Pharmacy Association, SwipeRx delivered the first nationally accredited digital geriatric training for pharmacy professionals achieving the following results in 8 hours:
👉 784 pharmacists reached across 28 out of 34 provinces
👉 593 received geriatric certification following the training –71% of whom were women
👉 Knowledge and confidence about geriatric care in the pharmacy increased from 35% ➜ to 88%
👉 97 out of 100 satisfaction score from trainees
One of the training participants from Hanoi explained, “I learned so much about bone health that I had never been trained in before from the SwipeRx training.” Others highlighted the practical pharmacy-relevant nature of training content and the flexibility of evening and weekend sessions that fit their working schedules.
🚀Following the training, SwipeRx is coaching trained pharmacists in Hanoi, Danang, and Hung Yen to add bone density screening, medication reviews, and e-consultations with doctors to their pharmacy scope, to identify and take action on preventable conditions among their older pharmacy clients.
Download the PDF below and contact us to learn more about the way we are using technology to promote gender equitable healthcare models through community pharmacies in Southeast Asia! ✨
