Parents’ perceptions of pharmacists as providers of influenza vaccine to children

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine parents’ experience with the process of obtaining the influenza vaccine and their perceptions about pharmacists providing influenza vaccination services to their children. DesignCross-sectional descriptive study. SettingWisconsin between November 2011 and April 2012. ParticipantsChildren receiving an influenza vaccination from a Unity Health Insurance (UHI)-covered pharmacy between September and December 2011 were identified from pharmacy claims data, and parents of the children were sent a letter requesting their participation in the study. InterventionOnline survey. Main outcome measuresParents’ experience with the process of obtaining the influenza vaccine and their perceptions about pharmacists providing influenza vaccinations to their children. Results179 parents received a letter from UHI requesting their participation in the study, and the usable response rate for the study was 48%. Parents’ experience with the process of obtaining the influenza vaccine was positive. A majority of parents did not need an appointment (98%) and visited a pharmacy during the hours of 3:05pm to 6:00pm (51%). Approximately 97% of the responding parents felt confident about the pharmacist providing influenza vaccinations to their children. ConclusionParents appear to be willing to accept pharmacists as an immunization resource for their children.