The Role of Community Pharmacists in Travel Health and Vaccination in Switzerland

Leuthold, Claudine; Bugnon, Olivier; Berger, Jérôme

doi:10.3390/pharmacy6040125

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Since 2015, Swiss community pharmacists may be accredited for vaccinating healthy adults [5,6], and cantonal health authorities define which vaccinations are allowed to be administered in community pharmacies, and may state additional requirements and limitations [7]. Among the 26 Swiss cantons, the canton of Valais was the first to provide the COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Moderna in community pharmacies at the end of April 2021 [8], closely followed by the canton of Zurich on the 5 May 2021 [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2021

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In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Swiss health authorities approved and ordered two mRNA vaccines in 2021. The canton of Zurich was the second in Switzerland to allow community pharmacists to administer the COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Moderna to the adult population. We aimed to pilot a customer satisfaction questionnaire regarding COVID-19 vaccinations in Zurich pharmacies. Questions focused on satisfaction with different aspects of the service, motivation for getting the vaccination, and reasons for being vaccinated in a pharmacy. Zurich pharmacies administered 68,169 COVID-19 doses until June 2021, and 421 questionnaires were filled. Respondents’ mean age was 43.5 (±13.2) years, with 42.3% reporting being women and 46.1% being men. Of the 372 complete questionnaires, 98.7% of the respondents would have recommended the service to others. High levels of satisfaction were reported concerning pre-vaccination discussion (98.9%), pharmacies’ information level on COVID-19 vaccines (98.9%), general comfort with receiving the vaccination in a pharmacy (99.5%), injection technique (99.2%), and premises used (98.1%). Most respondents (57.3%) would have had the option of another vaccination provider, but the pharmacies were chosen for their opening hours, ease of access, and perceived trust. The availability of pharmacist-administered services may be an important contributor to a successful vaccination programme in Switzerland.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2021

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“…Several investigations on the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of the general population and physicians regarding travel medicine have been conducted in different countries [4][5][6], and, to date, there is also research on the involvement of community pharmacists in this field [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. This is of utmost importance in order to provide important information for planning training interventions targeted towards these professionals to positively affect travelers' health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards Infectious Diseases Related to Travel of Community Pharmacists in Italy

Polla

Pelullo

Napolitano

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Pharmacists should be educated about travel medicine, since they could influence their own choices and those of the individuals they encounter. This study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards infectious diseases related to travel among community pharmacists in Italy. The data was collected from September 2018 to September 2019 using semi-structured telephone interviews. Only 1.8% answered correctly to all seven questions regarding the infectious diseases related to travel. Community pharmacists who had heard about travel medicine and those who had received information were more likely to have good knowledge. More than two-thirds of the respondents believed that it is important to provide information to the public about travel medicine. Pharmacists who worked a higher number of hours per week, were more knowledgeable about the more frequent infectious diseases related to travel, believed that travel medicine was a pharmacist competency, believed that they could give advice to the public, and had received information from scientific journals and educational activities were more likely to have this positive attitude. More than two-thirds often/always informed the public about the importance of having travel health center counseling. Pharmacists who had heard about travel medicine and those who believed that they could give advice to the public were more likely to inform. Interventions are needed to improve knowledge in order that community pharmacists can play an active role in counseling the public.

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“…Community pharmacies have recently extended their role in primary health care and pharmacists have demonstrated their potential to improve population’s health outcome [ 26 ]. Besides advising patients on their medications, pharmacists provide numerous preventive health services such as immunization or screening for sexually transmitted infections [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extended Access to Hormonal Contraception in Pharmacies: A Survey among Swiss Pharmacists

2020

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Background: Worldwide the availability to Hormonal Contraceptives (HC) varies from over the counter (OTC) to prescription-only access. In various countries pharmacists are allowed to prescribe HC, although conditions may be different. In Switzerland, HC require a prescription from a physician, although Swiss law allows pharmacists to dispense prescription-only medications in justified exceptional cases without a valid physician’s prescription. This study aimed to identify current dispensing practices for HC in Swiss pharmacies, pharmacists’ knowledge about HC, and their opinion and interest about expanding access to HC. Methods: Web-based survey among Swiss pharmacists. Results: This survey was completed by 397 registered pharmacists and 331 (83%) were included for analysis. The survey showed that 21% of respondents regularly dispense HC without prescription and that a high number of participants are either very interested (57%, n = 189) or rather interested (33%, n = 110) in extended pharmacy access to HC. The majority did not or rather not support physician’s prescription-only status (77%, n = 256) or OTC availability (94%, n = 310). Furthermore, surveyed pharmacists are willing to train for contraception services (90%, n = 299). According to participants, resistance of physicians is the most relevant barrier to this service (88%, n = 292). Conclusion: Surveyed pharmacists are interested in extended access to HC.

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The Role of Community Pharmacists in Travel Health and Vaccination in Switzerland

Cited by 13 publications

References 1 publication

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

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

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards Infectious Diseases Related to Travel of Community Pharmacists in Italy

Extended Access to Hormonal Contraception in Pharmacies: A Survey among Swiss Pharmacists

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