Focusing on Target Audiences and Impact to Influential Oncology Pharmacist Learners Through Evaluation of Programs on Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in the Treatment of Hematologic Malignancies

Bruton Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors (BTKi) are utilized in a variety of leukemias and lymphomas. Evidence to support use of BTKi are rapidly evolving, particularly in complex combination therapies. Pharmacists have key roles in therapy management as BTKi are employed indefinitely requiring patient-specific adherence strategies and unique management strategies to mitigate adverse effects.

Educational Strategy:

Multiple educational initiatives focused on BTKi were developed to increase confidence, knowledge, and competence of pharmacists caring for patients receiving these therapies. PTCE continuing education content is designed and targeted for specific pharmacist practice settings, influential learners’ needs, and areas of interest. Data collected from a subset of influential learners is utilized by PTCE for future activity development. Influential learners are defined as individuals who self-identified they work with cancer medications or patients with cancer.

 PTCE developed 19 independent programs on the use of BTK inhibitors over the course of 13 months. These sessions included a variety of deliverables such as live conference symposia (7), podcasts (6), chapter meetings (3), and inbooks (3). Several programs had enhancements including patient counseling videos and patient perspective interviews.

 The deliverables addressed 5 key areas of learners’ needs: application of clinical data/guideline-directed treatment selection; toxicity management; adherence strategies/barriers; cost and access; and managed care considerations. Pharmacist knowledge and confidence were assessed for each program through pretest and posttest surveys. Our primary objective was to identify optimal education design for influential learners in their specific practice settings.

Patient-Level Outcome(s) Measured:

In July 2023, data were analyzed for 19 programs, reaching 9,427 learners, of which, 7,405 (78.5%) completed the activity and requested ACPE credit. 1,952 (20.7%) influential learners completed the activity and requested ACPE credit. The top 3 practice settings included health system/hospital (30%), specialty pharmacy (24%) and infusion centers (12%). Results reported focus on influential learners’ outcomes.

 Aggregated data from all programs revealed statistically significant knowledge improvements from pre-test compared to post-test assessment. Questions on clinical data and guideline-directed treatment selection, led to a 60% improvement among influential learners. Knowledge of treatment-related toxicity management improved in 75% of influential learners’; adherence strategies and overcoming of barriers resulted in a 37% improvement. Two programs addressed cost and access to treatment challenges, resulting in a 60% improvement among influential learners. Managed care considerations assessed showed a 53% improvement in influential learners’ knowledge.

 The majority of influential learners (N = 1,210) reported that more than 50% of the program content was completely new information. Their self-reported confidence level improved consistently across all programs (pre-activity: 7-38%; post-activity: 46-78%)

Additional data analysis that assesses how distinct types of activity formats impact influential learners’ outcomes will be presented. We aim to identify what educational designs are the most effective teaching tools for unique target audiences and learners’ needs.