Pharmacy (Mar 2023)

Cultivating COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence in Pharmacy Professionals

  • Osama Aqel,
  • Banin Alqadheeb,
  • Mariana Felix,
  • Collin Amundson,
  • Jennifer M. Bingham,
  • Katie Meyer,
  • Terri Warholak,
  • David R. Axon

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy11020050
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 2
p. 50

Abstract

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Pharmacists promote vaccinations and challenge misconceptions about vaccine hesitancy, yet pharmacists’ knowledge of vaccine confidence has not been assessed. The objective of this study was to compare pharmacists’ knowledge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine confidence before and after a live continuing education (CE) session. This pretest–posttest study evaluated the differences before and after a live CE session on COVID-19 vaccine confidence provided to pharmacists at a nationwide health technology company. Participants’ total pretest and posttest scores were compared using paired t-tests, while pretest and posttest scores for each item were compared using chi-squared tests. A Bonferroni correction was applied, resulting in an alpha level of 0.005. A total of 279 pharmacists participated in this study. After the CE session, mean knowledge scores increased (5.2 ± 1.5 to 7.4 ± 1.35, p p = 0.099), determinants of vaccine uptake (83.9% to 87.8%, p = 0.182), and social determinants of health that can influence vaccination rates (93.6% to 96.4%, p = 0.121). There was a significant change in pre- and posttest knowledge for the remaining seven items.

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