Objective: Colleges and universities need effective strategies to help students develop medication-use behaviors that positively support their well-being. This pilot study evaluated the utility of Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning (FTSL), an evidence-based instructional strategy, to create long-lasting changes in students' well-being during a pharmacy general education course.
Participants and methods: Using a mixed methods survey design, we assessed 84 undergraduate students' changes in self-reported well-being at three different time points (pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up) through five variables (safe medication practices, general healthcare behaviors, healthcare self-efficacy, safe medication storage, and safe medication disposal).
Results: The results of multiple repeated-measures ANCOVAs, four McNemar chi-square tests, and qualitative thematic analysis showed significant positive changes in several variables over time.
Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrated that intentional integration of FTSL during the course design process helped students develop long-lasting general healthcare and safe medication-use behavior intentions. We discuss holistic approaches for promoting student well-being.
Keywords: Fink’s taxonomy; Well-being; course design; learning; medication safety.