ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Despite substantial evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of influenza vaccines, only 38.6% of the adult United States population received an influenza vaccine during the 2023-2024 flu season. Vaccination rates are typically lower among U.S. minority groups, and in 2022, pregnant persons from U.S. minority racial and ethnic groups showed a decrease in influenza vaccine coverage. METHODS: A survey was conducted with residents of Yakima County, Washington, which is home to one of the state's largest percentages of people who identify as Hispanic or Latino/a. The objective was to evaluate the uptake of influenza vaccine among pregnant persons. Surveys were sent to a random sample of 3000 residential mailing addresses. Of the 500 respondents, 244 (52.1%) reported that they had been pregnant, with those identifying as Hispanic or Latino/a constituting 23.8% of this total. Only 62 (26.2%) reported being immunized against influenza during pregnancy. Respondents who were immunized against influenza chose to be vaccinated to protect themselves from the flu (85.5%, n = 53); because a healthcare provider recommended getting vaccinated (85.5%, n = 53); to protect the baby from the flu (82.3%, n = 51); because it was available for free or low cost (62.9%, n = 39); and because vaccination was convenient (54.8%, n = 34). Qualitative evaluation identified that participants who were not vaccinated against influenza during pregnancy believed the vaccination was not needed, was not recommended by a healthcare provider, was difficult to access, they were against vaccination in general, or they were concerned about the safety and ingredients of the vaccine. CONCLUSION: Barriers to vaccination identified in this study included vaccine distrust, lack of awareness, and concerns about vaccine efficacy and safety. Healthcare providers can help address these concerns by providing education and recommendations about the importance of influenza vaccination during pregnancy.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of creating precepted, student pharmacist-led health outreach events at long-term care facilities and to describe the lessons learned during the implementation process. SETTING: Yakima, Washington, a medically underserved area. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Pharmacy students, supervised by pharmacist preceptors, conducted health outreach events at local long-term care facilities on a rotating monthly basis. These students provided comprehensive medication reviews, blood pressure screenings, and blood glucose screenings. PRACTICE INNOVATION: Pharmacists providing medication reviews at long-term care facilities where residents manage their medications can address polypharmacy by identifying medication discrepancies, determining the effectiveness of treatment, and improving patient outcomes. Conducting health outreach events with pharmacy-student involvement includes the added benefit of providing students with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience before beginning their clinical Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotations and practice skills described in the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists Geriatric Pharmacy Curriculum Guide and Pharmacist's Patient Care Process. RESULTS: Nineteen health outreach events at long-term care facilities were held, and more than 100 residents participated annually. Students coordinated events successfully after developing a standardized set of questions, which was necessary for planning, and identifying someone to act as an event coordinator, recruiting students and ensuring they were appropriately trained, and creating a monitoring form to be filled in and shared with the participant. Students learned key lessons including naming the events appropriately to avoid confusion, understanding that not all long-term care facilities are alike, deciding how many students to recruit from each cohort to participate in events, optimizing the preceptor-to- student ratio, and ensuring preceptors were thorough in their oversight of students. CONCLUSION: This work described the implementation of health outreach events conducted by supervised student pharmacists at long-term care facilities. Health outreach events could be conducted by other colleges or facilities to provide important medication review and health screening services for long-term care facilities' residents, as well as providing student pharmacists with opportunities to learn and practice patient-care related skills.