Professor Shalom Isaac (Charlie) Benrimoj, Pro-vice Chancellor Strategic Planning, and Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney and Professor Sally Davies, Director of Research and Development at the Department of Health will be key note speakers at a research summit being organised by the Trust in November to discuss the case and scope priorities for a national pharmacy practice research strategy.

The Trust has awarded its first two “Professionalism in Pharmacy Practice” Grants to the School of Medicine, Swansea University and the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Manchester. The Trust identified the principles and practice of professionalism in pharmacy practice as a key research priority and established the Professionalism in Practice Grants to be awarded for research that relates to the teaching, assessment and practice of professionalism in pharmacy.

The Trust has awarded its first Multiprofessional Practice Research grant to the University of bath for a study addressing treatment resistant schizophrenia (TRS), its management with clozapine and the pharmacist provision of these services.

Billions of pounds are spent every year on non-prescription medicines and their safe and effective use is of major importance” said Dr Margaret Watson in her keynote lecture as the winner of the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (the Trust) 2008 Practice Research Award at the British Pharmaceutical Conference.

A UK wide research strategy to support the development of robust evidence to inform commissioning and clinical decision making is needed if pharmacy services are to be integrated into care pathways says the Trust.

Increased workload, higher levels of stress and higher rates of delegation to support staff have resulted from the initial implementation of the contractual framework for community pharmacy, a study commissioned by the Trust reveals.

The Trust has established a one-to-one mentoring scheme to support novice or junior pharmacy practice researchers and help them develop research knowledge.

Communication problems, insufficient patient counselling about their medicines and limited access to patient's medical and medication history contribute to preventable drug related admissions to hospitals (PDRAs) says a new research study published by the Trust.

The Trust has welcomed the recommendations made for a greater and continuing focus on health services and pharmacy practice research in both the Department of Health White Paper on the future of pharmacy in England and the recent Clarke Inquiry report.

Understanding the target population, gaining an insight into their lives, and achieving good engagement that leads to lifestyle changes are major challenges to multidisciplinary teams involved in the design and implementation of public health programmes. To provide an insight into how and why people do or don't make lifestyle changes, the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust is holding a free evening lecture - Managing and marketing public health

The Pharmacy Practice Research Trust’s (the Trust) research activity and funding, awards & bursaries and events can now be accessed directly from their own dedicated website which has gone live today at: www.pprt.org.uk

People are more likely to visit their GP for advice on minor ailments as opposed to their local pharmacy even if it results in a short consultation suggests a research report published by the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust.

Welsh speakers' access to Welsh-language pharmacy services depends on where they live says a new research report published by the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (the Trust) which studied the role of Welsh language in community pharmacy in Wales. Availability of services through the medium of Welsh was found to depend on the distribution of the Welsh-speaking population.

The Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (the Trust) is inviting academic PhD supervisors to submit expressions of interest for developing a collaborative application for submission to either the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) or the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

For its new programme of research, the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (PPRT) has identified the principles and practice of professionalism in pharmacy practice as a key research priority. The PPRT is, therefore, inviting proposals to undertake research in relation to the teaching, assessment and practice of professionalism in pharmacy.

The Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (PPRT) has identified its key research priorities over the next three years. One of these is inter-professional working and the Trust is now inviting proposals from inter-professional teams or collaborative projects for research into long term conditions or public health.

Pharmacists who want to start or develop a research career are being invited by the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (PPRT) to apply for a 2008 Practice Research Award.

Community pharmacists who have an interest in developing their skills in conducting research relating to everyday pharmacy practice can now apply to the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (PPRT) Research Training Bursary Scheme.

A new research report published by the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust which investigates pre-registration choices of pharmacy graduates shows that future career and promotion prospects were the major motivaters in choosing a training post, influencing 86.4% of participants. In addition, passing the registration exam - or getting into the profession - strongly determined the largest proportion of the cohort's pre-registration decision-making (65%).