How involvement of community pharmacies improves accessibility to and awareness about flu vaccination? - An example from Estonia.

BACKGROUND . In Estonia, seasonal influenza vaccination coverage is poor, being in recent years the lowest in the older age groups. In 2018 the flu vaccination was first provided at community pharmacies in Estonia. The aims of this study were to evaluate the experience of flu vaccination at community pharmacies by pharmacy customers and to learn about the perception of community pharmacists regarding the immunization service. METHOD . Two cross-sectional surveys: among pharmacy customers after receiving flu vaccination (n=257), and for pharmacy professionals (n=209). Descriptive statistics were calculated in both studies. RESULTS . In the pharmacy customers` study, 54.9% received flu vaccination for the first time. Most of the respondents (96.8%) were satisfied with the quality of service. In both studies, community pharmacies were described as an accessible and convenient setting for immunization. Age and working experience of pharmacy professionals influenced the readiness to provide flu immunization, with younger pharmacists (<36 years) keener to be involved in vaccination services (p<0.01). CONCLUSION . Vaccination service at community pharmacy has a great potential to expand flu immunization coverage in Estonia. Despite on pharmacy professionals are not allowed to provide vaccination service at the moment, their contribution to increase public awareness about flu vaccination is significant.