Research in community pharmacy practice MCQs With Answer

Introduction: This quiz collection on Research in Community Pharmacy Practice is designed for M.Pharm students preparing for exams in Hospital & Community Pharmacy (MPP 103T). It focuses on core research concepts applied to community pharmacy — study designs, sampling, validity, bias, implementation science, outcome measures, and practical tools used in real-world pharmacy settings. Each question emphasizes critical thinking and applied knowledge relevant to designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting community pharmacy research. Use these MCQs to self-assess, identify knowledge gaps, and revise key methodological principles that underpin quality research aimed at improving patient care, medication safety, and pharmacy-based services in the community.

Q1. In community pharmacy practice research, which study design is most appropriate to evaluate the effectiveness of a new pharmacist-led medication adherence intervention compared to usual care while minimizing selection bias?

• Cross-sectional survey
• Case-control study
• Randomized controlled trial
• Qualitative focus group study

Correct Answer: Randomized controlled trial

Q2. Which sampling method is best suited for recruiting community pharmacies into a practice-based research network when representativeness across geographic regions is required?

• Convenience sampling
• Stratified random sampling
• Snowball sampling
• Purposive sampling

Correct Answer: Stratified random sampling

Q3. In a cross-sectional drug utilization study in community pharmacies, the main limitation for inferring causality is:

• High cost of data collection
• Inability to determine temporal sequence
• Large sample sizes required
• Complex statistical analysis

Correct Answer: Inability to determine temporal sequence

Q4. Which ethical consideration is most critical when conducting patient-level interventions in community pharmacies?

• Ensuring anonymity of participating pharmacies only
• Obtaining informed consent from patients
• Publishing results in open access journals
• Using convenience samples to speed recruitment

Correct Answer: Obtaining informed consent from patients

Q5. The Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) is primarily used to assess which research outcome in community pharmacy studies?

• Medication safety incidents
• Patient satisfaction with pharmacy layout
• Self-reported medication adherence
• Pharmacist workload

Correct Answer: Self-reported medication adherence

Q6. When planning a cluster randomized trial in community pharmacies, the key parameter to adjust sample size calculations for is:

• Effect size only
• Intracluster correlation coefficient (ICC)
• Number of study outcomes
• Type of statistical software used

Correct Answer: Intracluster correlation coefficient (ICC)

Q7. Which reporting guideline is most appropriate for reporting the results of a randomized trial of a community pharmacy intervention?

• STROBE
• CONSORT
• PRISMA
• COREQ

Correct Answer: CONSORT

Q8. Content validity in a questionnaire used in community pharmacy research is best evaluated by:

• Calculating Cronbach’s alpha
• Pilot testing with statistical factor analysis only
• Expert panel review and cognitive interviews
• Assessing test-retest correlation over 24 hours

Correct Answer: Expert panel review and cognitive interviews

Q9. In qualitative studies exploring patient experiences with pharmacist counseling, which data collection method provides depth and allows probing of individual perceptions?

• Structured questionnaire
• Key informant interviews
• Prescription audit
• Point-prevalence survey

Correct Answer: Key informant interviews

Q10. A pilot study in community pharmacy research primarily helps to:

• Replace the main study if funding is unavailable
• Test feasibility and refine procedures before the full trial
• Guarantee statistically significant outcomes
• Provide definitive estimates for national policy change

Correct Answer: Test feasibility and refine procedures before the full trial

Q11. Which measure is an objective indicator of medication adherence that can be collected from pharmacy dispensing records?

• Patient self-report scores
• Medication Possession Ratio (MPR)
• Pharmacist satisfaction rating
• Qualitative adherence interviews

Correct Answer: Medication Possession Ratio (MPR)

Q12. In community pharmacy intervention studies, process evaluation primarily examines:

• Long-term cost-effectiveness
• How an intervention was implemented and delivered
• Diagnostic accuracy of pharmacists
• Global prevalence of medication errors

Correct Answer: How an intervention was implemented and delivered

Q13. Which bias occurs when outcomes are influenced because participants know which group they were assigned to in a non-blinded pharmacy trial?

• Selection bias
• Performance bias
• Recall bias
• Publication bias

Correct Answer: Performance bias

Q14. A cost-effectiveness analysis in community pharmacy research compares:

• Clinical outcomes of two treatments without cost data
• Costs and health outcomes to determine the best value for money
• Only the financial revenue of pharmacies
• Qualitative stakeholder preferences

Correct Answer: Costs and health outcomes to determine the best value for money

Q15. Which statistic assesses internal consistency of a multi-item scale used to evaluate patient satisfaction with pharmacy services?

• Pearson correlation coefficient
• Cronbach’s alpha
• Kaplan-Meier estimate
• Chi-square test

Correct Answer: Cronbach’s alpha

Q16. In stepped-wedge designs often used in implementation research in community pharmacies, the main advantage is:

• All clusters receive the intervention by study end, improving acceptability
• Complete blinding of participants and implementers
• Elimination of temporal confounding without adjustment
• Lower sample size needs compared to individual RCTs always

Correct Answer: All clusters receive the intervention by study end, improving acceptability

Q17. Which framework is commonly used to evaluate implementation outcomes (e.g., acceptability, fidelity) of a community pharmacy service?

• RE-AIM
• SPIRIT
• PRISMA
• PICOS

Correct Answer: RE-AIM

Q18. For measuring incidence of adverse drug events in community pharmacies, the most appropriate data source is:

• Cross-sectional patient satisfaction surveys
• Active surveillance of prescriptions and patient follow-up
• Publication databases of clinical trials only
• Pharmacy staff opinion polls

Correct Answer: Active surveillance of prescriptions and patient follow-up

Q19. When performing multivariable analysis in a community pharmacy outcomes study, adjusting for confounders is necessary to:

• Increase the sample size artificially
• Isolate the independent effect of the exposure on outcome
• Ensure perfect randomization
• Replace the need for descriptive statistics

Correct Answer: Isolate the independent effect of the exposure on outcome

Q20. In mixed-methods community pharmacy research, the primary strength is that it:

• Relies solely on quantitative data for objectivity
• Combines quantitative and qualitative data to provide comprehensive insights
• Always requires fewer resources than single-method studies
• Eliminates the need for ethical approval

Correct Answer: Combines quantitative and qualitative data to provide comprehensive insights

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