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

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.

Community Pharmacist-Administered COVID-19 Vaccinations: A Pilot Customer Survey on Satisfaction and Motivation to Get Vaccinated

“…As of June 2021, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom were the only countries among 13 in Europe having a legal framework for independent vaccinations by pharmacists [16]. Pharmacists providing vaccination services require confidence, knowledge, and skills [16], which can be addressed with appropriate training, increasing their self-reported readiness [21]. Only 15,617 of 1,152,000 delivered influenza vaccine doses (1.4%) were delivered in Swiss pharmacies in the season of 2017/2018 [22], whereas there were 271,962 of 7,211,350 delivered COVID-19 vaccine doses (3.8%; data until 23 June 2021).…”

Pharmacists’ Perceptions and Drivers of Immunization Practices for COVID-19 Vaccines: Results of a Nationwide Survey Prior to COVID-19 Vaccine Emergency Use Authorization

“…Polish community pharmacists who underwent additional immunization training showed a greater readiness to provide immunization services as compared with those who did not receive training. The most common barriers affecting Polish pharmacists' readiness were: providing vaccinations will require more work, not enough training courses, and pharmacy facilities are not adjusted to provide these services [18]. Acknowledging that readiness and willingness for vaccination are not mutually exclusive, our findings were comparable in showing that those who have completed additional training were more likely than unlikely to receive and recommend COVID-19 vaccines.…”

Helping Québec Pharmacists Seize the Vaccination Service Opportunity: The Pharmacy Best Practice Workshops

“…Overall, their findings highlight the crucial role patient cases play in training programs to help pharmacy and pharmacy staff identify eligible patients and improve vaccination rates. Finally, Merks et al [44] reported on the readiness and willingness of pharmacists in Poland to provide immunization services after completing the "Pharmacists Without Borders" educational workshops during the COVID-19 pandemic (February 2020-August 2020). Relevant to our work, the authors indicated that part of the apprehension pharmacists have toward providing vaccination services seem to stem from increased workload, not enough vaccination training courses and pharmacies not being adjusted to provide these types of services.…”