Evaluating pharmacy students’ knowledge and skills in reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health care at a South African university
Abstract
Maternal and child mortality is a global concern and one of South Africa’s quadruple burdens of
disease. As easily accessible frontline healthcare workers, pharmacists play an important role in the continuum of
maternal and child health (MCH) care according to recommendations by international health regulatory bodies.
Pharmacy schools are obliged to train pharmacy students to meet the priority health needs of the population so
that graduates are ‘fit for purpose’. The baseline study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and skills of 2017 final year
pharmacy students who were exposed to a fragmented MCH care curriculum at a university in South Africa to
inform curriculum review.