(1147) Knowledge, Beliefs, and Satisfaction with a Targeted Intervention About the RSV Vaccination

Objectives: Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV is the most common cause of lower respiratory infections that can cause high mortality in older adults. Currently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the RSV vaccine to adults aged 60 years or older under shared clinical decision making. Those at the highest risk for severe RSV disease include those with chronic conditions such as lung disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or any other conditions that a health care provider may deem an increased risk.
Community pharmacists are at the front lines of vaccination education and administration. This role is essential as community pharmacists can address vaccine hesitancy that can stem from a variety of reasons such as lack of trust in the healthcare system, lack of exposure or education, and socioeconomic elements.
There are mixed results on various techniques that community pharmacists have implemented to increase vaccine uptake. There is a gap in literature as the subject, the RSV vaccine, is novel and has limited research on its uptake. Targeted vaccine education aims to increase vaccine uptake and community pharmacists are in the ideal position to promote such services. The objective is to perform a quality improvement project of targeted vaccination education to increase the uptake of RSV vaccine for patients > 60 years of age.

Methods: A prospective quality improvement project will be conducted over 4 months in one pharmacy of a large chain community-based pharmacy. Patients will be identified based on age and risk factors to receive targeted education. Educational material about the RSV vaccine will include information about the signs and symptoms of RSV, the RSV vaccine, why it is beneficial, and potential side effects of the vaccine. Vaccine administration procedures will follow normal pharmacy policies and procedures. All eligible patients will be asked to complete a survey, regardless if they opt in receiving the vaccine or not. The survey was developed using the Health Belief Model Framework to elicit knowledge and beliefs about the RSV vaccine, and will include satisfaction on the vaccination service if applicable and patient demographics (age, race and gender). The survey consists of 38 questions with fill in the blank, select all that apply, Likert scale, and free response type of questions.
The number of vaccine recommendations vs. vaccines given during the 4 months will be recorded through online portal and intervention records. Vaccination numbers in the community-based pharmacy with targeted educational intervention will be compared to vaccination numbers in a community-based pharmacy with similar vaccine baseline characters and no targeted educational intervention. Data will be analyzed using descriptive, univariate and bivariate statistics.

Results: N/A- Research in progress

Conclusions: N/A- Research in progress