Defining the pharmacist role in the pandemic outbreak of novel H1N1 influenza

Abstract

Objectives: To assess patient knowledge about H1N1 influenza pandemic and vaccine availability, evaluate the effectiveness of student pharmacist education about H1N1 influenza, assess patient comfort with pharmacists as immunization providers, and identify patients preferred location for H1N1 vaccination.

Design: Descriptive, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study.

Setting: 18 community pharmacy advanced pharmacy practice experience (CP-APPE) sites located across New York State, from September 2009 to February 2010.

Participants: Convenience sample of adult (≥18 years of age) patients of CP-APPE sites.

Intervention: Student pharmacists delivered an education intervention to patients and patients completed anonymous surveys.

Main outcome measures: Patient knowledge and comfort with pharmacists as immunizers.

Results: 19 student pharmacists at 18 CP-APPE sites engaged in 215 interventions. The majority of respondents were women (60.9%) who were older than 60 years (43.7%) and white (83.7%). Patient knowledge and comfort with pharmacists as immunizers improved significantly. Compared with baseline, student pharmacist education interventions significantly increased the number of patients who were comfortable receiving the H1N1 influenza vaccination from a pharmacist (from 69.3% to 81.4%, P = 0.012).

Conclusion: Student pharmacists served as an effective education resource for patients regarding the H1N1 pandemic. Patient comfort with pharmacist provision of the H1N1 vaccination can enable pharmacists to serve as frontline health professionals in the time of a pandemic outbreak.