ABSTRACT

Background

In Estonia, seasonal influenza vaccination coverage is poor, being in recent years the lowest in the older age groups. In 2018 the flu vaccination was first provided at community pharmacies in Estonia. The aims of this study were to evaluate the experience of flu vaccination at community pharmacies by pharmacy customers and to learn about the perception of community pharmacists regarding the immunization service.

Method

Two cross-sectional surveys: among pharmacy customers after receiving flu vaccination (n = 257), and for pharmacy professionals (n = 209). Descriptive statistics were calculated in both studies.

Results

In the pharmacy customers` study, 54.9% received flu vaccination for the first time. Most of the respondents (96.8%) were satisfied with the quality of service. In both studies, community pharmacies were described as an accessible and convenient setting for immunization. Age and working experience of pharmacy professionals influenced the readiness to provide flu immunization, with younger pharmacists (<36 years) keener to be involved in vaccination services (p < 0.01).

Expert Opinion

Increasing influenza vaccination in high-risk patient groups is crucial. The involvement of other healthcare professionals, such as community pharmacists, could be key to reaching these patient groups and improving access to vaccination services in general. The development of the pharmacy profession has also shifted from pharmaceutical product based to patient oriented approach with provision of more clinical services. This enables to use professional competency of pharmacists in healthcare more widely. Lack of resources (financial, healthcare professionals, etc.) and an aging population are driving new ways to deliver healthcare more efficiently with the pharmacist working with other healthcare providers taking greater responsibility for patient health outcomes.

Conclusion

Vaccination service at community pharmacy has a great potential to expand flu immunization coverage in Estonia. Despite on pharmacy professionals are not allowed to provide vaccination service at the moment, their contribution to increase public awareness about flu vaccination is significant.

背景

。在爱沙尼亚，季节性流感疫苗接种率很低，近年来是老年人群中最低的。2018年，爱沙尼亚的社区药店首次提供了流感疫苗接种。这项研究的目的是评估药房顾客在社区药房进行流感疫苗接种的经验，并了解社区药房对免疫服务的看法。

方法

。两项横断面调查：在接受流感疫苗接种后的药房客户中（n = 257），以及针对药房专业人员的情况（n = 209）。两项研究均计算了描述性统计数据。

结果

。在药房客户的研究中，有54.9％的人首次接受了流感疫苗接种。大多数受访者（96.8％）对服务质量感到满意。在这两项研究中，社区药房都被描述为免疫接种的便捷途径。药剂师的年龄和工作经验影响了提供流感疫苗接种的意愿，年轻的药剂师（<36岁）更愿意接受疫苗接种服务（p <0.01）。

结论

。社区药房的疫苗接种服务在扩大爱沙尼亚的流感疫苗接种覆盖率方面具有巨大潜力。尽管目前不允许药房专业人士提供疫苗接种服务，但他们为提高公众对流感疫苗接种的认识做出了巨大贡献。