Shades of gray in vaccination decisions - Understanding community pharmacists' perspectives of, and experiences with, influenza vaccine hesitancy in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Background and objectives: Vaccine hesitancy (VH) has been increasingly recognized as a global threat to public health. Yet, limited research exists exploring healthcare providers' experience of this phenomenon. Our study aims to understand community pharmacists' attitudes towards, and experiences with, influenza VH, and explore factors impacting their engagement with patients on the influenza vaccine.

Methods: A semi-structured interview guide was developed, and interviews were conducted to saturation with community pharmacists practicing in Ontario, Canada. Interview data was transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a thematic content analysis framework. The analysis yielded 110 unique codes, which were merged into five major themes and 15 sub-themes.

Results: A total of 22 pharmacists were interviewed to achieve saturation. Most pharmacists were authorized to administer injections (n = 20, 90.9%) and practiced for >20 years (n = 16, 72.7%). Pharmacists' engagement with patients on the influenza vaccine was found to be modulated by a complex and mutually reinforcing constellation of attitudes and behaviours which include: a binary (pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine) perception of patient vaccination decisions; a conflation of those expressing hesitancy with those who are anti-vaccine; and a passive approach to patient engagement, wherein patients were found to be the primary initiators of vaccine conversations. Although pharmacists recognized the importance of educating patients and addressing their vaccine-related concerns, barriers such as limited time, inadequate staffing, and poor remuneration were found to restrict optimal patient engagement on influenza vaccinations.

Conclusion: While pharmacists hold the potential to effectively address influenza VH within their communities, future interventions must aim to break the loop of passive patient engagement and enable proactive pharmacist-patient interactions on influenza vaccinations in this setting.

Keywords: Community pharmacy; Influenza vaccines; Patient engagement; Pharmacists; Vaccine hesitancy.