Pharmacies versus doctors' offices for adolescent vaccination

Abstract

Purpose: We sought to understand the relative advantage of pharmacies compared to doctors' offices for delivering HPV vaccination to adolescents.

Methods: Participants were a national sample of 1500 U.S. parents of adolescents ages 11-17 recruited in 2014-15. In an online survey, items informed by Diffusion of Innovation Theory assessed parents' perceptions of the relative advantages of HPV vaccine delivery in pharmacies and doctors' offices.

Principle findings: Many parents believed doctor's offices offered a better health care environment than pharmacies, with more privacy (77%) and a safer place for vaccination (70%). However, many parents also believed pharmacies were more accessible than doctors' offices, requiring less time for vaccinations (71%) and offering more convenient hours (59%). Parents were more willing to get their children HPV vaccine from pharmacists if they indicated more relative advantages in vaccine delivery in pharmacies (β = .29; p < .001) and believed patient accessibility more important than health care environment (β = .20; p < .001).

Conclusions: To be more appealing to parents as HPV vaccine providers, pharmacy providers within community and hospital settings should build on their relative advantage with respect to accessibility and enhance their appeal of their healthcare environment.

Keywords: Adolescent vaccines; Alternative vaccination settings; HPV vaccine; Pharmacies; Pharmacists.