All pharmacists provide some level of drug information, whether to other clinicians or to patients. In fact, a recent survey found that 96.4% of 491 hospitals have staff pharmacists who routinely answer drug information questions,[1] and a separate survey of colleges of pharmacy showed that 89% of first professional pharmacy degree programs require at least one didactic course in drug information.[2] While most pharmacists are equipped with knowledge regarding the practice of drug information, the ever-expanding list of pharmaceuticals, as well as the overwhelming amount of clinical data, makes it difficult for practitioners to stay current with recent developments. This also results in the need for more advanced problem-solving skills in order to answer the more complex questions that challenge practitioners today.
Drug information specialists are pharmacists whose primary responsibility is the provision of drug information. As with any specialty, formalized training beyond that received in pharmacy school is not required; however, this focused training does Strengthen the practitioner's clinical credibility and ability to compete with others for employment opportunities. These two intangible attributes may also be obtained with time and experience.
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) provides residency accreditation in drug information. There are currently 31 ASHP-accredited drug information specialty residencies located throughout the United States. These residency programs are housed in community, academic, and industrial settings and offer a variety of learning opportunities. Although there are additional drug information residency programs that are not ASHP accredited, the standards and objectives for such accreditation may be used to describe the clinical skills set of the drug information specialist which go beyond the minimum standards required of all pharmacists.[3]
Most drug information residency programs provide the resident with 12 months of directed, postgraduate practical experience in the provision of comprehensive drug information. During this 12-month period, the resident is exposed to various aspects of drug information practice that range in scope and complexity, with the ultimate goal of training the resident to become a competent drug information specialist. Many of the competencies required of a drug information resident are specific to executive issues, such as the development and management of a drug information center, but there are many more competencies that construct the foundation of a drug information specialist's clinical practice. Drug information specialists must be up-to-date with relevant drug-related literature in order to provide the most current information. They are often tasked as a pharmacy representative to pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committees. Responsibilities may include preparing medication-use policies and procedures, improving a health system's adverse-drug-reaction reporting and medication-use evaluation programs, and creating and distributing newsletters containing pertinent medication-use information. The drug information specialist must have advanced literature search and assessment skills to develop drug monographs. Additional responsibilities often include developing patient safety initiatives, ensuring compliance with Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations's standards, and appropriately utilizing drug-contracting opportunities to decrease drug expenditures. Drug information specialists may also work in pharmacy informatics.
As previously mentioned, drug information specialists work in a variety of settings, each with its own unique scope of practice. Academic drug information centers staffed by drug information specialists offer pharmacy students practical experience in utilizing available medical media and developing literature-search strategies. Of 88 colleges of pharmacy surveyed, 20% require a drug information practice experience and 70% offer the experience as an elective.[2] These centers are often located within colleges of pharmacy or university hospitals. Most offer their services to a limited range of health care professionals, such as those within certain facilities or within the region or state. Others offer their services to community pharmacists and patients. Many health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) have contractual relationships with academic drug information centers, which in turn offer their services to the respective members of the organizations. In addition, HMOs, GPOs, and pharmacy benefit management companies (PBMs) have internal drug information departments that assist their members on a grander scale by providing many of the items utilized by P&T committees in making medication-use decisions. Many PBMs also provide consumer-based drug information via the Internet that is prepared by drug information specialists.
Proprietary and generic drug manufacturers are staffed with pharmacists who provide drug information specifically for the drugs manufactured by the respective companies. Although there is some information they cannot legally share and all information received should be critically evaluated, they do maintain a database of clinical studies, both published and unpublished, that provides hard-to-find information. These drug information specialists are available to health care professionals and the public and should be contacted if a patient has an unexpected adverse drug reaction. In addition, drug information specialists have practical knowledge of clinical trial design and often provide valuable insight as medical writers and in governmental agencies analyzing drug efficacy and safety claims.
Drug information specialists are trained to provide clear, concise, and accurate drug information in a variety of settings. Not only do they provide quality service, but pharmacist-provided drug information, adverse-drug-reaction monitoring, and formulary management have been associated with significant reductions in the total cost of care in hospital settings, as well as reductions in patient deaths.[4] The presence of a drug information center providing these services in 232 hospitals reduced total cost of care per hospital by $5,226,128.22 (p = 0.003), including a $391,604.94 reduction in drug costs per hospital, and was associated with a total of 10,463 fewer deaths.[4] Disappointingly, an online survey of health care professionals showed that only 1% of respondents contact a drug information center when the need arises.[5] Another recent survey found that only 5.9% of 491 hospitals have a staff position dedicated to the provision of drug information and 4.1% have a formal drug information center.[1] Granted, contacting a drug information specialist may not be the fastest way to obtain drug information in an emergency situation; nonetheless, this underutilization raises several questions.
Today, the Internet provides a plethora of information for both health care professionals and their patients. Many practitioners probably use the Internet when seeking answers to questions. However, at least one study judged significantly more responses obtained from a drug information center as accurate when compared with those received from a Usenet newsgroup (p = 0.001).[6] Also, there is no quality control for these types of newsgroup services and other similar medical information sources housed on the Internet, and practitioners may be jeopardizing their own credibility when using these resources. Another source of information is facility-housed references, including print and electronic products. Electronic drug information products are becoming increasingly popular. A recent survey showed that 60.4% of 491 hospitals subscribed to some sort of electronic product.[1] Two interesting surveys on drug information references have been conducted.[7,8] In one survey, 40.9% of 22 respondents said they were not satisfied with the drug information resources to which their pharmacy currently subscribed.[7] In another survey, 38% of 71 respondents said they used a drug information reference at least 10 times a day, and another 35.2% used such a reference 3-5 times daily.[8] This discrepancy shows that practitioners regularly use some sort of drug information reference, even though they are not always satisfied with the information obtained.
With so many pharmacists retrieving information from drug information references, the underutilization of drug information specialists as a resource cannot be attributed to a lack in the number of questions that need to be answered. Perhaps practitioners do not know how to find drug information specialists. Industry-based specialists can be contacted via the manufacturer's Web site, and the Physicians' Desk Reference provides a listing of contact information for drug manufacturers.[9] Drug Topics's Red Book contains a list of academic drug information centers, and many colleges of pharmacy provide these services to the pharmacies in their respective states.[10] It is also worth contacting HMOs or GPOs, where applicable, to learn about the services they provide.
Drug information specialists are a valuable resource available to support appropriate drug use and Strengthen quality of patient care. New practitioners are urged to take advantage of the expertise of drug information specialists, either within or outside of their own institutions.
Save the Children’s research suggests that income shortages in poorer households, when combined with shocks such as natural disasters or conflict, reinforce poor health and nutrition and thereby lead to higher rates of child deaths.
Hunger also keeps children out of school and limits their ability to concentrate once in school. Studies conducted by Save the Children indicate that learning achievement among children from poor families is systemically lower than their peers.
An increasing number of young people live in a state of poverty, unemployment and/or underemployment. Over one-fourth of young people in the world cannot find a job paying more than $1.25 per day, the international threshold of extreme poverty. Three quarters of young workers ages 15-29 are employed in the informal sector, increasing the possibility of exploitative or hazardous working conditions.
Save the Children’s Household Economy Approach (HEA) outcome analyses have found that the cycle of vulnerability due to chronic hunger and a lack of livelihoods security may lead poorer households and children to pursue unsustainable and dangerous livelihoods opportunities, to withdraw children from school, or to encourage early child marriage or harmful child labor.
Food security, livelihoods protection and strengthening, and poverty alleviation programs are an essential underpinning to ensuring the survival, education and protection of children, such that the intergenerational cycle of poverty can be broken.
To address this, Save the Children:
Teenagers living with obesity who say hunger is preventing them from losing weight (hunger-barrier ALwO) perceive their weight more negatively and worry about it more than youngsters who don’t see hunger as an obstacle, new research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Dublin, Ireland (17-20 May) shows.
The international study also found that hunger-barrier ALwO are more likely to be female and more likely to say their weight makes them unhappy and leads to them being bullied. They are also more likely to be actively trying to lose weight.
Dr Bassam Bin-Abbas, of the Department of Paediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and colleagues carried out a sub-analysis of data from ACTION Teens, a global study of the experiences, care and treatment of adolescents living with obesity (ALwO), their caregivers and their healthcare providers.
The survey-based study, which is being conducted in ten countries (Australia, Colombia, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey and the UK) aims to Strengthen awareness of management, treatment and support for ALwO. It has previously found uncontrolled hunger to be the biggest barrier to weight loss.
Data on 5,275 ALwO (aged 12-17 years), 5,389 caregivers of ALwO and 2,323 healthcare professionals (HCPs) was included in the sub-analysis.
ALwO were grouped based on their responses to survey questions about barriers to weight loss: those in the “hunger-barrier ALwO” group (1,980, 38%) indicated not being able to control hunger is a barrier to them losing weight, the “non-hunger barrier ALwO” group (3,295, 62%) did not indicate this.
Hunger-barrier ALwO were more likely to be female (47% vs. 42%), to be in the oldest age group (16–17 years; 49% vs. 41%), have obesity class II (27% vs.18%) and have a direct relative with overweight (mother with overweight: 31% vs. 24%; father with overweight: 29% vs. 21%) than the non-hunger barrier ALwO group. However, hunger-barrier ALwO were less likely to have obesity class I (60% vs. 68%) and class III (12% vs. 14%).
The hunger-barrier ALwO perceived their weight more negatively. More hunger-barrier ALwO believed their weight to be above normal than non-hunger barrier ALwO (90% vs. 68%) and fewer were satisfied with their weight (14% vs. 38%). Hunger-barrier ALwO were more likely to say their weight make them unhappy (56% vs. 36%), less likely to be proud of their body (15% vs. 38%) and more likely to say they are bullied because of their weight (28% vs 22%).
ALwO who saw hunger as a barrier to weight loss were also more likely to be thinking about their weight and its effect on their health. A greater proportion of hunger-barrier ALwO were somewhat, very or extremely thinking about their weight (85% vs. 64%) or thinking “a lot” about their weight affecting their future health (44% vs. 32%) than non-hunger barrier ALwO.
The survey responses also revealed that the hunger-barrier ALwO were more likely to be actively trying to lose weight. A greater proportion of hunger-barrier ALwO had attempted to lose weight in the past year (70% vs. 51%), improved their eating habits (51% vs. 35%), become more physically active (37% vs. 32%), recorded the foods they ate (23% vs. 14%), seen a nutritionist/dietitian (21% vs. 13%) or an obesity/weight management doctor (20% vs. 9%) than non-hunger-barrier ALwO.
More hunger-barrier ALwO indicated they were very likely to attempt to lose weight in the next 6 months (42% vs. 36%). Although only 6% of the adolescents in both groups had taken prescription weight-management medication in the past year, those in the hunger-barrier ALwO group were more likely to say they would feel comfortable taking weight-management medication after an HCP recommendation (44% vs. 35%).
The survey also looked at the types of food available at home and the household’s habits. A significantly greater proportion of hunger-barrier ALwO than non-hunger-barrier ALwO indicated there are typically fruit and vegetables (61% vs. 47%), sugary snacks such as sweets and biscuits (55% vs. 36%) and sugary drinks, including soft drinks, fruit juice and energy drinks (53% vs. 35%), available in their house.
Compared with non-hunger barrier ALwO, significantly more hunger-barrier ALwO indicated that they/their family frequently order takeaways (37% vs. 24%), while fewer said that their family likes to exercise together (18% vs. 21%).
The hunger-barrier ALwO were more likely to say that their family is open and supportive in helping them lose weight (38% vs. 25%).
The researchers conclude that there is an association between the perception that an inability to control hunger is a barrier to weight loss and adolescents’ awareness of their obesity status, dissatisfaction with their body and engagement in weight-management behaviours.
“Many people living with obesity have weaker appetite regulation, with food having less impact on the systems that inhibit eating behaviour,” says Dr Bin-Abbas.
“Consequently hunger is not dampened. This leads to the feeling food is controlling you and this makes it very difficult to resist cues to eat. This may mean that hunger is associated with more unsuccessful weight loss attempts and weight regains and so greater feelings of failure and lack of self-worth.”
Professor Jason Halford, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, head of the School of Psychology at the University of Leeds and one of the study’s authors, adds: “Healthcare providers must be aware that uncontrolled hunger caused by the biology of obesity is a real barrier to weight loss and they must take steps to help young people overcome it.
“They must also be alert to lack of self-worth, worry and other negative feelings that can be associated with it.
“Meanwhile, young people who struggle to lose weight because of hunger should not take it as a personal failure but seek healthcare advice.”
Dr Bassam Bin-Abbas, Department of Paediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. T) +966 534 341 777 E) b.binabbas@gmail.com
Professor Jason Halford, School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. T) +44 7974 950446 E) J.Halford@leeds.ac.uk
Alternative contact: Tony Kirby in the ECO Media Centre. T) +44 7834 385827 E) tony@tonykirby.com
Notes to editors:
The ACTION Teens study is supported by Novo Nordisk.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
This press release is based on abstract PO3.045 at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO). The material has been peer reviewed by the congress selection committee. There is no full paper at this stage.
19-May-2023
Study was funded by Novo Nordisk
Of the 5.9 million children who die each year, poor nutrition plays a role in at least half these deaths. That’s wrong. Hunger isn’t about too many people and too little food. It’s about power, and its roots lie in inequalities in access to resources and opportunities.
When disaster strikes, Oxfam works with a global network of local organizations to address urgent humanitarian needs and protect lives. We deliver food, clean water, cash, and information, working closely with local leaders who know how best to help people in need.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed the fragility of our food systems. That's why Oxfam is working with local communities across the world to build resilient and sustainable local food systems able to provide nourishing food for everyone to solve world hunger.
In order to stop world hunger, Oxfam and our partners help farmers learn new techniques, share their innovative ideas with each other, grow more food, and earn more money. And when sudden disasters (an earthquake or an upsurge of locusts), or slow-onset emergencies such as drought bring hunger and the threat of famine, we help people rebuild the ways they make a living so they can put food on the table.
For farmers, we provide seeds, tools, and other supplies people need to grow their own food, keep their livestock healthy, and become self-sufficient. In many emergencies, Oxfam provides cash so people can make their own food purchasing decisions, to ensure they can get what will help them best (and circulate money in the local economy).
Communities enduring emergencies and food shortages may also face a lack of clean water and the threat of disease. It’s hard to absorb nutrition from any available food if you have a stomach ailment. Oxfam and our partners help people with a source of clean water, soap so they can stay clean, and a proper toilet to avoid contaminating water supplies. In many of Oxfam’s ongoing programs, our partners work on promoting good hygiene and sanitation to help people stay healthy even when there is not an emergency.
Oxfam and our supporters advocate for peace, push for adequate assistance for people affected by war and famine, and campaign for climate action given the climate crisis' effect on the world’s supply of food and the poorest communities.
Our research and advocacy advance sustainable development in ways that help reduce the risk of future food crises and disasters, helping communities become more resilient.
We also advocate for more assistance for rural women farmers, who account for nearly half the agricultural workforce in developing countries. Despite their crucial roles in producing food, they face discrimination and limited bargaining power, disadvantages in land rights, unpaid work, insecure employment, and exclusion from decision making and political representation.
Find out what you can do to reduce hunger and the likelihood of famine in the world. Visit our Take Action page to sign up for a virtual event, add your name to a petition or contact your member of Congress to push for better policies, and join our E-Community.
You can also make a donation towards hunger relief: Your financial contribution can help fight hunger and famine, so we can defeat poverty and injustice.
Teenagers living with obesity who say hunger is preventing them from losing weight (hunger-barrier ALwO) perceive their weight more negatively and worry about it more than youngsters who don't see hunger as an obstacle, new research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Dublin, Ireland (17-20 May) shows.
The international study also found that hunger-barrier ALwO are more likely to be female and more likely to say their weight makes them unhappy and leads to them being bullied. They are also more likely to be actively trying to lose weight.
Dr Bassam Bin-Abbas, of the Department of Paediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and colleagues carried out a sub-analysis of data from ACTION Teens, a global study of the experiences, care and treatment of adolescents living with obesity (ALwO), their caregivers and their healthcare providers.
The survey-based study, which is being conducted in ten countries (Australia, Colombia, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey and the UK) aims to Strengthen awareness of management, treatment and support for ALwO. It has previously found uncontrolled hunger to be the biggest barrier to weight loss.
Data on 5,275 ALwO (aged 12-17 years), 5,389 caregivers of ALwO and 2,323 healthcare professionals (HCPs) was included in the sub-analysis.
ALwO were grouped based on their responses to survey questions about barriers to weight loss: those in the "hunger-barrier ALwO" group (1,980, 38%) indicated not being able to control hunger is a barrier to them losing weight, the "non-hunger barrier ALwO" group (3,295, 62%) did not indicate this.
Hunger-barrier ALwO were more likely to be female (47% vs. 42%), to be in the oldest age group (16–17 years; 49% vs. 41%), have obesity class II (27% vs.18%) and have a direct relative with overweight (mother with overweight: 31% vs. 24%; father with overweight: 29% vs. 21%) than the non-hunger barrier ALwO group. However, hunger-barrier ALwO were less likely to have obesity class I (60% vs. 68%) and class III (12% vs. 14%).
The hunger-barrier ALwO perceived their weight more negatively. More hunger-barrier ALwO believed their weight to be above normal than non-hunger barrier ALwO (90% vs. 68%) and fewer were satisfied with their weight (14% vs. 38%). Hunger-barrier ALwO were more likely to say their weight make them unhappy (56% vs. 36%), less likely to be proud of their body (15% vs. 38%) and more likely to say they are bullied because of their weight (28% vs 22%).
ALwO who saw hunger as a barrier to weight loss were also more likely to be thinking about their weight and its effect on their health. A greater proportion of hunger-barrier ALwO were somewhat, very or extremely thinking about their weight (85% vs. 64%) or thinking "a lot" about their weight affecting their future health (44% vs. 32%) than non-hunger barrier ALwO.
The survey responses also revealed that the hunger-barrier ALwO were more likely to be actively trying to lose weight. A greater proportion of hunger-barrier ALwO had attempted to lose weight in the past year (70% vs. 51%), improved their eating habits (51% vs. 35%), become more physically active (37% vs. 32%), recorded the foods they ate (23% vs. 14%), seen a nutritionist/dietitian (21% vs. 13%) or an obesity/weight management doctor (20% vs. 9%) than non-hunger-barrier ALwO.
More hunger-barrier ALwO indicated they were very likely to attempt to lose weight in the next 6 months (42% vs. 36%). Although only 6% of the adolescents in both groups had taken prescription weight-management medication in the past year, those in the hunger-barrier ALwO group were more likely to say they would feel comfortable taking weight-management medication after an HCP recommendation (44% vs. 35%).
The survey also looked at the types of food available at home and the household's habits. A significantly greater proportion of hunger-barrier ALwO than non-hunger-barrier ALwO indicated there are typically fruit and vegetables (61% vs. 47%), sugary snacks such as sweets and biscuits (55% vs. 36%) and sugary drinks, including soft drinks, fruit juice and energy drinks (53% vs. 35%), available in their house.
Compared with non-hunger barrier ALwO, significantly more hunger-barrier ALwO indicated that they/their family frequently order takeaways (37% vs. 24%), while fewer said that their family likes to exercise together (18% vs. 21%).
The hunger-barrier ALwO were more likely to say that their family is open and supportive in helping them lose weight (38% vs. 25%).
The researchers conclude that there is an association between the perception that an inability to control hunger is a barrier to weight loss and adolescents' awareness of their obesity status, dissatisfaction with their body and engagement in weight-management behaviors.
Many people living with obesity have weaker appetite regulation, with food having less impact on the systems that inhibit eating behavior."
Dr Bassam Bin-Abbas, Department of Paediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
"Consequently hunger is not dampened. This leads to the feeling food is controlling you and this makes it very difficult to resist cues to eat. This may mean that hunger is associated with more unsuccessful weight loss attempts and weight regains and so greater feelings of failure and lack of self-worth."
Professor Jason Halford, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, head of the School of Psychology at the University of Leeds and one of the study's authors, adds: "Healthcare providers must be aware that uncontrolled hunger caused by the biology of obesity is a real barrier to weight loss and they must take steps to help young people overcome it.
"They must also be alert to lack of self-worth, worry and other negative feelings that can be associated with it.
"Meanwhile, young people who struggle to lose weight because of hunger should not take it as a personal failure but seek healthcare advice."
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As a Visitor Information Specialist Volunteer, you will engage with visitors and inspire them to plan memorable and exciting experiences across the Smithsonian. Volunteers provide essential services to the Smithsonian by providing a warm welcome and useful information to our visitors about Smithsonian exhibitions, activities, services, and more. If you’re looking for a volunteer role that allows you to meet people from around the world, learn about new and exciting things happening at the Smithsonian, and be at the center of the action, this position is for you!
Dynamic and friendly individuals 18 years or older who have a desire to talk with visitors and share their enthusiasm for the Smithsonian and all that it has to offer. Also looking for people who...
Applicants must be able to volunteer for a minimum of one year, once a week or once every other weekend. Regular shift times are 4 hours in length.
Visitor Information specialists serve at Information Desks across the Smithsonian, including:
Training is provided for all Visitor Information specialists through the Office of Visitor Services and is a prerequisite to service. Training for the next class of Visitor Information specialists will begin in March 2023.
We are now accepting applications for this assignment!
Start the process and apply today!
Please contact Abbey Earich at EarichA@si.edu with questions about this volunteer assignment.
