Exploring Innovation and Impact: Highlights from Our Latest Pharmaceutical Business & Technology Dissertations
By Com O’Connor, Innopharma Education Librarian & Research Specialist
The latest dissertations from our Pharmaceutical Business & Technology programme are now available on our Institutional Repository! In this post we’re happy to present a selection of these and briefly explore some of the themes and topics which our students have been researching.
Sustainability and Environmental stewardship were key themes in several dissertations this year; Madhuralekshmi Pankey’s dissertation focused on post-consumer pharmaceutical waste, exploring the potential of pharmacy-led medication take-back programmes in Kerala, India. Improper disposal of unused and expired medicines poses serious risks to public health and the environment, especially in regions like Kerala, India, where structured disposal systems are currently lacking. Inspired by France’s CYCLAMED model, the study finds strong support among pharmacists and outlines the regulatory, infrastructural, and public awareness challenges that must be addressed. The research emphasised the critical role of government-led education campaigns, clear regulatory frameworks, and financial support in ensuring the program’s success. Ultimately, Madhuralekshmi concluded that a pharmacy-led take-back system is both practical and urgently needed in Kerala, provided that existing gaps are addressed through coordinated policy reforms and community engagement
Public health and medication safety were the focus of our next two dissertations. Beema Beevi examined the impact of medication label clarity on patient adherence safety and found that over half of participants occasionally or frequently deviated from instructions due to factors such as complex language, small font size and English-only labels. For labels with simplified language, colour coded labels and pictograms however, adherence and patient understanding showed significant improvement. The study recommends regulatory reforms requiring multilingual and user-friendly label designs supported by digital tools such as QR codes. Moving to South Dublin for our next study, Anupriya explored how patient safety can be improved by reducing dispensing errors. Root causes of these errors were found to be fatigue, workplace distractions and inadequate training – existing safeguards were found to weakened due to inconsistent application. Recommendations included enhancing digital tool usage and strengthening staff training programs to reduce errors. Both studies underscore that patient safety can be significantly advanced through improved communication, system design, and staff support in pharmaceutical practices.
Other themes and topics addressed by our students this year included regulatory compliance, pharmaceutical manufacturing innovation and efficiency, vaccine awareness and digital health technology to name just a few. View the full text of our Pharmaceutical Business & Technology Dissertations here or explore all our dissertations from the repository homepage.
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