Awareness, knowledge, and attitudes of health professions students toward health economics and pharmacoeconomics education in Jordan

Introduction: Health economics education (HEe) and pharmacoeconomics education (PEe) in the Middle East and North Africa area is growing, particularly in pharmacy education. Little is known about the awareness, knowledge, and attitudes of health professions students toward health economics (HE) and pharmacoeconomics (PE) and the extent of education they receive before joining the workforce. Methods: A self-completed validated questionnaire was distributed to students from medical, dental, pharmacy, and nursing schools in Jordan. The questionnaire assessed awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about HE and PE terminologies, applications, and need for training. Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were used to outline the differences between students' responses. Results: A total of 2648 questionnaires were analysed, representing 586 medical, 414 dental, 1080 pharmacy, and 568 nursing students. Approximately 65% of respondents reported they had heard of HE or PE. Supportive views about the necessity for economic education in healthcare professions curricula were reported. Nursing students most often expressed desire to undertake training before graduation while dental students showed the least interest. Conclusions: Students across health professions groups acquire various extents of HEe and PEe before graduation. Pharmacy schools demonstrated leading interest and progress in providing PEe in Jordan, and medical schools appeared to follow. Both dental and nursing schools were lagging. Regional support from the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Arabic Network, accreditation, and regulatory requirements are leading social and contextual contributors to PEe in Jordan.