Contemporary Research Methods in Pharmacy and Health Services

Emerging methods, as well as best practices in well-used methods, in pharmacy are of great benefit to researchers, graduate students, graduate programs, residents and fellows also in other health science areas.

Researchers require a text to assist in the design of experiments to address seemingly age-old problems. New interventions are needed to improve medication adherence, patients’ lived experiences in health care, provider-patient relationships, and even various facets of pharmacogenomics. Advances in systems re-engineering can optimize health care practitioners’ roles.

Contemporary Research Methods in Pharmacy and Health Services includes multi-authored chapters by renowned experts in their field. Chapters cover examples in pharmacy, health services and others transcendent of medical care, following a standardized format, including key research points; valid and invalid assumptions; pitfalls to avoid; applications; and further inquiry.

This is a valuable resource for researchers both in academia and corporate R&D, primarily in pharmacy but also in health services, and other health disciplines. Social science researchers and government scientists can also benefit from the reading.

Shane P. Desselle, RPh, PhD, FAPhA, is Associate Dean for Research & Professional Affairs, Chair, and Professor at Touro University California, USA. He is founding Editor-in-Chief of Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy (RSAP) and Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy (ERCSP). Additionally, he coedits the major text Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Settings, now in its 6th, worldwide edition. He has published over 170 papers in peer-reviewed journals. In 2020, he coauthored a paper winning the Wiederholt Prize for the best paper published in Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, and in 2019, he won the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Sustained Contribution Award for his teaching, scholarship, and service in social/administrative pharmacy. His federally funded research focuses on organizational culture, quality of work life, and advancing the roles of various professionals within the medication use and education systems.

Victoria García-Cárdenas, BPharm, MPharm, PhD, FFIP, is an Associate Professor at the University of Granada, Spain, where she serves as Vice-Dean for International Relations and Postgraduate Studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy. Her teaching and research focus on the development, evaluation, and implementation of professional pharmacy services, aiming to optimize the quality use of medicines and improve patient outcomes. Her work also addresses the advancement of patient-centered care and the integration of clinical pharmacy services within healthcare systems. She has authored over 90 peer-reviewed publications and has participated in several nationally and internationally funded research projects.

Claire Anderson is a Professor of Social Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham. Her current research areas include people’s experiences of using of medicines; pharmacy education development and pharmacy workforce; medicines at the end of life; pharmacy services e.g. immunisation, services for cancer survivors and osteoporosis.

Parisa Aslani, BPharm(Hons), MSc, GradCertEdStud (Higher Ed), PhD, MRPharmS, FPS, FFIP, FANZCAP, is a Professor in Medicines Use Optimisation at The University of Sydney, Australia. She is known internationally for her research in the areas of consumer medicines information and adherence to therapy. Her research has impacted policy and education in the healthcare sector, and at the Australian Government level, and has led to a global initiative on developing medicine information strategies for implementation at national and local levels. Her research skills range from qualitative techniques to survey design and randomized control trials.

Aleda M.H. Chen, PharmD, MS, PhD, FAPhA, is a Professor and Director of Assessment at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy, Cedarville, OH, USA. She is an Associate Editor at Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy (RSAP) and coedits the major text Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Settings. In 2024, she won the Lyman Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) for the best educational research paper in the American Journal of Pharmacy Education (AJPE), and in 2026, she received the AACP Distinguished Teaching Scholar Award. Her teaching and research interests focus on pharmacy assessment, competency-based education (CBE), implementation science, and behavior change, leading to >125 published papers in peer-reviewed journals. Her work in CBE has led to her becoming a member of the International CBE Health Professions Collaborative and guest editing a collection of papers on the implementation of CBE for Perspectives in Medical Education.