Pharmacists Attitude and Perceived Barriers toward Providing Vaccination Services

Abstract

Background: Vaccination has significantly reduced the global burden of infectious diseases, preventing millions of deaths annually. Despite the availability of effective vaccines, suboptimal vaccination coverage remains a challenge, limiting the full realization of vaccination benefits. With their expertise in medication management and patient education, pharmacists play a crucial role in public health, particularly in vaccination services. But, due to low involvement of pharmacist specially Community Pharmacist who is available to public more than the other health care professionals effect the success and coverage of target immunization. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the attitude and perceived barriers among community pharmacists in providing immunization services at community pharmacies in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a different community pharmacy in Lahore city. A validated questionnaire was used for this study with a Cronbach alpha value of 0.721. The students of pharm-D distributed the questionnaire to pharmacists in various community pharmacies. The study assessed attitudes and barriers using a Likert scale and examined the impact of demographics such as gender, education, and work experience on these variables. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) ver. 25.0 was used to analyze the data. Post-hoc pairwise comparison of chi-squared test for different variables with attitude and perceived barriers in community pharmacists is done. Results: The results revealed that male pharmacists had a slightly more positive attitude toward vaccinations than females, although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.094). Pharmacists with PhDs demonstrated a higher enthusiasm for providing vaccination services, which was attributed to their advanced knowledge. Full-time pharmacists exhibited better attitudes than part-time pharmacists, although this difference was also not statistically significant (p = 0.161). A key finding was the positive influence of vaccine availability, particularly Hepatitis B, on pharmacists' attitudes, with a statistically significant p-value of 0.003. However, several barriers persist, including inadequate training, lack of public trust, and limited vaccine access. These barriers were consistent across genders, as both male and female pharmacists reported similar challenges (p = 0.928). Conclusion: In conclusion, community pharmacists in Lahore demonstrate positive attitudes toward providing vaccination services. However, addressing the barriers to vaccination administration is essential for optimizing the pharmacists’ involvement in vaccination programs. The study highlights the need for targeted education and policy interventions to address these barriers and enhance pharmacists' roles in vaccination services, ultimately improving public health outcomes in Pakistan.