Readiness and Willingness to Provide Immunization Services after Pilot Vaccination Training: A Survey among Community Pharmacists Trained and Not Trained in Immunization during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland

Piotr Merks, Urszula Religioni, Krzysztof Bilmin, Jedrzej Lewicki, Marta Jakubowska, Anna Waksmundzka-Walczuk, Aleksandra Czerw, Agnieszka Barańska, Joanna Bogusz, Katarzyna Plagens-Rotman, Dariusz Świetlik, Ewelina Drelich, Damian Świeczkowski, Jane Lambert, Miłosz Jaguszewski, Grzegorz Juszczyk, Bander Balkhi and Regis Vaillancourt
Additional contact information
Piotr Merks: Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, 01-938 Warsaw, Poland
Urszula Religioni: Collegium of Business Administration, Warsaw School of Economics, 02-513 Warsaw, Poland
Krzysztof Bilmin: Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, 01-938 Warsaw, Poland
Jedrzej Lewicki: Polish Pharmaceutical Group, 91-342 Łódź, Poland
Marta Jakubowska: Polish Pharmaceutical Group, 91-342 Łódź, Poland
Anna Waksmundzka-Walczuk: Solec Hospital, 00-382 Warsaw, Poland
Aleksandra Czerw: Department of Economics and Medical Law, Medical University of Warsaw, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland
Agnieszka Barańska: Department of Computer Science and Medical Statistics with the Studio of Remote Learning, Medical University of Lublin, 20-954 Lublin, Poland
Joanna Bogusz: Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health-National Institute of Hygiene, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland
Katarzyna Plagens-Rotman: Hipolit Cegielski State University of Applied Sciences, 62-200 Gniezno, Poland
Dariusz Świetlik: Department of Biostatistics and Neural Networks, Medical University of Gdansk, Debinki 1, 80-211 Gdansk, Poland
Ewelina Drelich: Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Collegium, Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-089 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Damian Świeczkowski: First Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Gdansk, Debinki 7, 80-211 Gdansk, Poland
Jane Lambert: Emergency Care Gateway (ECG), Milton Keynes MK13 9AP, UK
Miłosz Jaguszewski: Polish Pharmaceutical Group, 91-342 Łódź, Poland
Grzegorz Juszczyk: Department of Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
Bander Balkhi: Medication Safety Research Chair, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 4545, Saudi Arabia
Regis Vaillancourt: Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: Background: Immunization rates among the adult population in Poland are below desired targets, urging the need to expand this service in the community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ultimate goals for limiting the spread of the infection are vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Pharmaceutical companies are in a race for the fastest possible way to deliver vaccines. Community pharmacists in Poland are recognised as an accessible yet underutilised group of medical professionals. Therefore, involving pharmacists in vaccinations may have beneficial results for the healthcare system. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the readiness and willingness of community pharmacists following the Pharmacist Without Borders project who had either been trained or not in providing immunization services, and to identify the factors that may support the implementation of such services in Poland. Methods: This study was conducted among pharmacists between February and August 2020 in Poland. A survey was developed to determine their readiness to provide vaccination services in their pharmacies, to recognise any barriers to vaccinations, as well as the factors necessary to implement vaccination services in Polish pharmacies. Results: A total of 1777 pharmacists participated in the study, comprising 127 (7.1%) pharmacists trained in vaccinations during the Pharmacists Without Borders project and 1650 (92.9%) pharmacists not participating in the workshops. Pharmacists participating in the workshops more often indicated that providing vaccinations in community pharmacies would improve the overall vaccination rate ( p = 0.0001), and that pharmacists could play an important role in advertising and promoting vaccinations ( p = 0.0001). For the pharmacists not participating in the workshops, they indicated to a much greater extent possible barriers affecting the readiness to provide vaccinations in pharmacies. They most often pointed out that vaccination services would result in a significant workload increase ( p = 0.0001), that pharmacies were not adapted to immunization, and that there were not enough training courses for pharmacists ( p = 0.0001). Conclusion: The pharmacists working in community pharmacies indicated many advantages of vaccinations in pharmacies. This study identified barriers to the introduction of vaccinations and factors necessary to implement these services in pharmacies. The pharmacists trained during the immunization programme of the Pharmacists Without Borders project showed a greater readiness to provide immunization services.

Keywords: community pharmacists; vaccines; immunization services; Poland; Pharmacist Without Borders project (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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