Development of a curriculum to improve PrEP awareness and counseling at a national pharmacy chain

<h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Background</h3> Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is underutilized nationally. Community pharmacies are an ideal location to provide PrEP services because they are easily accessible and trusted by patients. <h3>Objective</h3> This study aimed to design and implement an educational curriculum on PrEP care for pharmacists. <h3>Methods</h3> We developed a 10-module (5 core and 5 advanced) curriculum that could be accessed as needed to fit within the time constraints of pharmacy personnel. Each module ranged from 8 to 22 minutes in length for a total of 125 minutes. The materials were created by an interdisciplinary team of 5 clinical PrEP experts, 1 pharmacist, 5 implementation scientists, 2 members of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and 3 members of the Walmart executive pharmacy leadership team. The modules were distributed via an online learning platform on December 1, 2022, to Walmart pharmacies located in the United States. All members of the Walmart pharmacy health care team were eligible to participate in the frcurriculum. Initial invites were sent to 15,477 and 15,461 pharmacists for the core and advanced modules, respectively. Outcomes of interest included the number of participants accessing the curriculum and pre- and postcurriculum learning assessments. Data collection occurred from January 26, 2023, to September 1, 2024. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 3257 individuals registered for the core curriculum with 2598 completing the core, whereas 1725 individuals registered for the advanced topics with 1574 completing the advanced. Most participants were pharmacists and located in the southern United States. Cohen's d effect sizes for change in the pre- and postcurriculum in the core modules ranged from −0.02 to 1.03. <h3>Conclusions</h3> We successfully created and implemented a pharmacist-centered PrEP educational curriculum within Walmart pharmacies. By increasing PrEP awareness and knowledge among pharmacists, we aimed to increase pharmacist-led PrEP counseling to communities in need of HIV prevention services and contribute toward ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.