Shades of gray in vaccination decisions – Understanding community pharmacists’ perspectives of, and experiences with, influenza vaccine hesitancy in Ontario, Canada

Pullagura, Gokul Raj; Violette, Richard; Houle, Sherilyn K.D.; Waite, Nancy

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.01.085

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The initial search yielded 428 studies, of which a total of 34 studies met the criteria and were included in this review (Table 1). 9 -42 Among included studies, 22 (65%) focused on the general population, 10 (29%) focused on health care professionals and 2 (6%) focused on recent immigrant populations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to adult vaccination in Canada: A qualitative systematic review

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: In recent years, Canadian health care professionals have observed an increase in vaccine refusal. The objective of this study is to review published literature and identify the main themes related to vaccine hesitancy and barriers to vaccination in Canadian adults and recent immigrants. Methods: A qualitative systematic review was performed. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE (1946 to January 2021) and EMBASE (1974 to January 2021) was conducted to identify existing literature that addressed the primary research question. Studies were eligible for inclusion if the study population involved 1) the general population, 2) Indigenous populations, 3) recent immigrants to Canada or 4) Canadian health care professionals. Results: Thirty-four studies were included with a focus on the general population ( n = 22), health care professionals ( n = 10) and recent immigrant populations ( n = 2). The most frequently reported barriers were lack of vaccine information (41%), lack of access to vaccination (38%), fear of adverse reactions (38%), financial reasons (29%), lack of awareness of vaccine existence (29%), antivaccine sentiments (24%), notion that older adults do not need vaccination (18%), misconceptions on vaccine effectiveness (12%), potential sexual health promotion stigma (6%) and fear of needles (3%). Interpretation: Barriers to vaccination among Canadians and recent immigrants continue to be a challenge in the health care system. Conclusions: The greatest yield in improving vaccination rates is likely to come from supporting vaccine-hesitant individuals in shifting their thinking to greater vaccine acceptance. Pharmacists are well positioned to address vaccine hesitancy and involvement through education, facilitation and administration of vaccines. Can Pharm J (Ott) 2022;155:xx-xx.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to adult vaccination in Canada: A qualitative systematic review

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many different studies have documented these arguments, resulting in a rich literature on reasons for vaccine rejection (see Fasce et al, in press, for a systematic review). However, although these arguments include those that physicians in previous studies had identified as their patients' concerns (e.g., Pullagura, Violette, Houle, & Waite, 2020;Smith, 2015;Vercruysse et al, 2016), there has yet to be an analysis of how physicians perceive the different arguments they could encounter.…”

Section: Difficulties In Dealing With Vaccine Resistancementioning

confidence: 99%

Difficulties faced by physicians from four European countries in rebutting anti-vaccination arguments

Holford¹,

Schmid²,

Fasce³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Physicians play a critical role in encouraging their patients to get vaccinated, in part by responding to patients' concerns about vaccines. It is therefore important to understand what difficulties physicians have in dealing with different concerns they may encounter. We investigated physicians' perceptions of difficulties in rebutting different anti-vaccination arguments from patients using data collected as part of a cross-sectional, cross-national questionnaire on physicians' vaccine attitudes and behaviours. Physicians in four European countries (Finland, Germany, France, and Portugal, total n = 2,718) rated 33 different arguments, chosen to represent 11 different psychological motivations, in terms of their perceptions of how difficult each argument would be to rebut. Across all countries, physicians perceived arguments based on religious concerns and “reactance” (i.e., resistance to perceived curbs of freedom) to be the most difficult to rebut, whereas arguments based on patients' distorted perception of the risks of disease and vaccines were perceived as the easiest. There were also between-country differences in the level of perceived difficulty of argument rebuttal. Physicians' perceived difficulty with rebutting arguments was significantly negatively correlated with their vaccine recommendation behaviours and their preparedness for vaccination discussions. Physicians may feel better equipped to counter arguments that can be rebutted with facts and evidence, but may need support to respond when arguments are motivated by more complex psychological dispositions.

show abstract

“…Patients frequently report myths and misinformation about influenza vaccines and dietary supplements to their community pharmacists. 5,6 Pharmacists during these pharmacist-patient interactions have the opportunity to begin a dialogue with their patients and provide critical education to improve patient safety and public health. One recent and important example is that of the antivaccination and vaccine-hesitant communities.…”

Section: Dispelling Myths and Misinformation In Pharmacy Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

The pharmacist’s active role in combating COVID-19 medication misinformation

Marwitz¹

2021

Journal of the American Pharmacists Association

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pharmacists listen to and dispel medication misinformation daily. Because of the accessibility of pharmacists, pharmacists have the opportunity during pharmacist-patient interactions to begin a dialogue with their patients and provide critical education to improve patient safety and public health. Current examples of pharmacists intervening with medication misinformation includes addressing the anti-vaccination community, educating on the safety of generic drugs, and using evidence-based medicine for antimicrobial stewardship. However, combatting medication misinformation in pharmacy practice with patients takes on many forms and can pose a number of challenges. Most recently during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a concurrent infodemic has led to claims of pharmacotherapeutic superiority and efficacy unsubstantiated by scientific evidence. Misinformation and partisan politics have also created a distrust in COVID-19 vaccine development. In addition, rogue internet pharmacies and companies have marketed new and unverified COVID-19 treatments and tests. Pharmacists must actively combat these instances of medication misinformation and educate their patients on how not to fall victim to convincing marketing and misinformation schemes. Pharmacists can help patients recognize misinformation by vetting sources of information and communicating how negative emotional information circulates. Additionally, pharmacists combat misinformation with patients by providing accurate alternative explanations in patient-friendly language. While it is easier to stay silent and let misinformation circulate, pharmacists must work with their healthcare team members to actively reject misinformation pertaining to medications, COVID-19 pharmacotherapy and vaccinations, and in any future public health crisis.

show abstract

Shades of gray in vaccination decisions – Understanding community pharmacists’ perspectives of, and experiences with, influenza vaccine hesitancy in Ontario, Canada

Cited by 12 publications

References 36 publications

Barriers to adult vaccination in Canada: A qualitative systematic review

Barriers to adult vaccination in Canada: A qualitative systematic review

Difficulties faced by physicians from four European countries in rebutting anti-vaccination arguments

The pharmacist’s active role in combating COVID-19 medication misinformation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About