Davies Abby, Schreiber Daniel, Carey Claire, Tucker Sarah Beth, Goodman Macie, Love Bryan L, Reeder Gene, Hastings Tessa J
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences, University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Columbia, SC 715 Sumter St, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 912 Assembly St. Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Vaccine. 2025 Apr 19;53:126930. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.126930. Epub 2025 Mar 1.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Pneumococcal disease is a serious bacterial infection, particularly for high-risk groups such as infants, adults 65 and older, and individuals with certain conditions; however, vaccination rates remain low. Pharmacists are often visited more frequently than primary care physicians and therefore are in a unique position to increase pneumococcal vaccination rates. This study aims to identify barriers to pneumococcal vaccination and assess pharmacists' knowledge of pneumococcal vaccines in a community pharmacy setting.
A cross-sectional study was conducted, surveying 124 pharmacists in South Carolina community pharmacies. The survey, which included 33 questions assessing knowledge, barriers to administration, Organizational Readiness for Change, current pharmacy immunization practices, and demographics, had a 47 % response rate. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and key barriers were identified using exploratory factor analysis.
Pharmacists demonstrated limited knowledge of pneumococcal vaccination guidelines, identifying the correct vaccination recommendation in only three of nine cases. Barriers to vaccination were categorized into three subscales: financial, lack of resources, and patient-related factors, with Cronbach's alpha reliability scores ranging from 0.612 to 0.786. Most pharmacists expressed high confidence in their pharmacy's ability to provide vaccine services and coordinate tasks for implementing new services, but less confidence regarding staff willingness to adopt new vaccination services.
This study highlights gaps in pharmacists' knowledge of pneumococcal vaccine recommendations and identifies key barriers to vaccination within the community pharmacy setting. Targeted education and interventions could help address key barriers and enhance the effectiveness of community pharmacy immunization services, particularly for high-risk populations.
背景/目的：肺炎球菌疾病是一种严重的细菌感染，对婴儿、65岁及以上成年人以及患有某些疾病的个体等高风险人群尤其如此；然而，疫苗接种率仍然很低。药剂师的就诊频率通常比初级保健医生更高，因此在提高肺炎球菌疫苗接种率方面具有独特的地位。本研究旨在确定肺炎球菌疫苗接种的障碍，并评估社区药房环境中药剂师对肺炎球菌疫苗的了解情况。
进行了一项横断面研究，对南卡罗来纳州社区药房的124名药剂师进行了调查。该调查包括33个问题，评估知识、接种障碍、组织变革准备情况、当前药房免疫实践和人口统计学，回复率为47%。使用描述性统计来描述样本特征，并使用探索性因素分析确定关键障碍。
药剂师对肺炎球菌疫苗接种指南的了解有限，在九个案例中只有三个能正确识别疫苗接种建议。接种障碍分为三个子量表：财务、资源缺乏和患者相关因素，克朗巴赫α信度得分在0.612至0.786之间。大多数药剂师对其药房提供疫苗服务和协调实施新服务任务的能力表示高度信心，但对工作人员采用新疫苗接种服务的意愿信心较低。
本研究突出了药剂师在肺炎球菌疫苗接种建议知识方面的差距，并确定了社区药房环境中疫苗接种的关键障碍。有针对性的教育和干预措施有助于解决关键障碍，提高社区药房免疫服务的有效性，特别是对高风险人群。
