2022 Incentive Grant Recipient: Kathryn Pearce, PharmD
Project Proposal: Assessment of Community Pharmacist-Provided Hypoglycemia Risk Mitigation to Patients with Diabetes Taking Antidiabetic Agents with High Risk for Causing Low Blood Sugar
Kathryn Pearce, PharmD currently serves as the PGY-1 Community-Based Pharmacy Resident at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy/Kroger in Morgantown, West Virginia. She is a graduate of Ohio Northern University – Raabe College of Pharmacy
"West Virginians suffer disproportionately from diabetes with more than 1 in 10 residents (15%) affected. However, interventions from accessible healthcare providers, such as community pharmacists like myself, may help West Virginians with diabetes avoid negative health outcomes. I am thrilled to be one of the recipients of the Incentive Grants this year and am looking forward to researching the incredibly relevant and pervasive issue of hypoglycemia mitigation in patients with diabetes."
As the incidence of diabetes has continued to increase, more patients are using medications to manage their diabetes. However, some of these agents have the ability to cause hypoglycemia and patients may not know how to prevent and/or treat a hypoglycemic episode. This project is aimed at improving patient awareness regarding hypoglycemia, including appropriate treatment and prevention strategies.
"Since community pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professionals and are available at the time of dispensing agents that can cause hypoglycemia, I feel that we are uniquely advantaged to provide education and strategies regarding hypoglycemia risk mitigation to persons with diabetes. I hope that such pharmacist-led interventions will improve patient care outcomes and overall quality of life by preventing diabetes-related emergencies and decreasing the burden on the healthcare system and the patient."