Addressing barriers to pneumococcal vaccination: Training pharmacy technicians for roles in vaccine advocacy

  • C. H
  • O. G
  • L. C
  • et al.
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Abstract

Objective: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 70 million people have indications for pneumococcal vaccine but remain unvaccinated. Patient understanding of pneumococcal vaccine recommendations is likely a large barrier to vaccination. Due to their significant role in the medication use system, pharmacy technicians may be a valuable resource to facilitate communication about pneumococcal vaccine. However, pharmacy technicians ability to initiate vaccine conversations with patients also may be a barrier to increasing vaccination rates. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of involving pharmacy technicians on vaccination rates. Methods: This prospective cohort study will take place in a grocery store pharmacy chain. Four pharmacy technicians at the intervention store will take part in a 1-hour educational session about pneumococcal disease and vaccine. Resources will be created for the technicians to support patient encounters, including a flowchart for flagging potential vaccine candidates, a handout with educational points ("script") for initiating discussion with the patients, and bag stuffers to inform patients about vaccine eligibility. Technicians will be trained to target the following individuals: patients >65 years or patients >18 years with asthma, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or diabetes mellitus. Technicians will track the number of pneumococcal vaccination encounters each week and the number of bag stuffers distributed. A store with the same number of technicians and similar patient demographics will serve as the comparison site. Paired Student t test will be used to compare pneumococcal vaccine rates prior to and following technician training for both stores; t test will be used to compare pneumococcal vaccine rates between the intervention and control stores at the end of the study. Results: Research in progress. Institutional review board approval is anticipated in October 2013. Pharmacy technicians will be trained in November 2013 and data collected through February 2014.

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APA

C., H., O., G., L., C., & S., F. (2014). Addressing barriers to pneumococcal vaccination: Training pharmacy technicians for roles in vaccine advocacy. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. C. Humphries, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy, United States. E-mail: courtney.tate@stores.kroger.com: American Pharmacists Association. Retrieved from http://japha.org/article.aspx?articleid=1838416

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