Patient Perceptions on Receiving Vaccination Services through Community Pharmacies

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 19; no. 5; p. 2538
• Main Authors: Kowalczuk, Anna, Wong, Alexandre, Chung, Kevin, Religioni, Urszula, Świetlik, Dariusz, Plagens-Rotman, Katarzyna, Cameron, Jameason D, Neumann-Podczaska, Agnieszka, Fehir Šola, Katarina, Kazmierczak, Justyna, Blicharska, Eliza, Vaillancourt, Regis, Merks, Piotr
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22-02-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Clinics; Community Pharmacy Services; Cooperation; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Data analysis; Drug stores; Health care; Humans; Immunization; Infectious diseases; Influenza; Medical personnel; Nurses; Outpatient care facilities; Pandemics; Patients; Pharmacies; Pharmacists; Professionals; Public health; Questionnaires; SARS-CoV-2; Software; Vaccination; Vaccines; Variables; Websites; Poland; COVID-19; pharmacist; community pharmacy; patient; vaccination
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19052538

(1) Introduction: Pharmacists are medical professionals who play an active role in the protection of public health. Since 2021, pharmacists with an appropriate certification have been authorised to administer vaccines against COVID-19. (2) Objective: The objective of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of patients about receiving vaccinations through community pharmacies. (3) Material and methods: This study was conducted in 2021. The research tool was an anonymous questionnaire published on the websites of patient organisations. Ultimately, 1062 patients participated in this study. (4) Results: This study shows that most of the respondents find community pharmacies more accessible than outpatient clinics (85.3%). Sixty-one percent of the respondents stated that getting vaccinated at pharmacies would be less time consuming than at outpatient clinics. Nearly every third respondent (29.5%) declared that they would get vaccinated if they received such a recommendation from a pharmacist. Fifty-six percent of the respondents were of the opinion that the administration of vaccines by pharmacists would relieve the burden on medical staff and the healthcare system. (5) Conclusions: Polish patients participating in the study have a positive attitude towards the implementation of vaccination services in community pharmacies as an effective way of combating infectious diseases.