Vaccination Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Educational Needs of Pharmacists in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study
Background: Singapore’s adult vaccination coverage is suboptimal, and this can be attributed to a lack of vaccination recommendations and misconceptions. Studies have explored pharmacists’ vaccination knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviour overseas but limited information about pharmacists in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/11/1219 |
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| author | Ally L. Au Deborah M. Chia Pei-Shi Ong |
| author_facet | Ally L. Au Deborah M. Chia Pei-Shi Ong |
| author_sort | Ally L. Au |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Singapore’s adult vaccination coverage is suboptimal, and this can be attributed to a lack of vaccination recommendations and misconceptions. Studies have explored pharmacists’ vaccination knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviour overseas but limited information about pharmacists in Singapore is available. This study aims to investigate pharmacists’ vaccination knowledge, attitudes towards providing vaccination services, and their educational needs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on pharmacists in various practice settings using an anonymous online survey. Results: Pharmacists’ vaccination knowledge (median: 2; IQR: 1–3), confidence in providing vaccination services (median: 6; IQR: 5–8), and frequency of providing vaccination services (median: 2; IQR: 1–3) were only average. However, 74.3% of pharmacists agreed that they play an important role as vaccine advocates. Apparent differences in knowledge level (<i>p</i> = 0.008), confidence level (<i>p</i> = 0.001), attitude (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and the frequency of educating patients (<i>p</i> = 0.001) and recommending vaccinations (<i>p</i> < 0.001) were observed among pharmacists from different practice settings. The main barriers identified were discomfort with giving injections (38.5%) and a lack of skills or knowledge (28.3%) at the point of survey. Conclusions: Pharmacists see the importance of their role as vaccine advocates. However, their vaccination knowledge, confidence in providing vaccination services, and practice behaviours are only average due to inadequate training. Continuous professional education is required to increase pharmacists’ readiness to provide vaccination services. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a2970e015b8a4a689b98df2c818d6c49 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj-art-a2970e015b8a4a689b98df2c818d6c492024-11-26T18:24:29ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2024-10-011211121910.3390/vaccines12111219Vaccination Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Educational Needs of Pharmacists in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional StudyAlly L. Au0Deborah M. Chia1Pei-Shi Ong2Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, SingaporeDepartment of Pharmacy, National University Hospital, Singapore 119085, SingaporeDepartment of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, SingaporeBackground: Singapore’s adult vaccination coverage is suboptimal, and this can be attributed to a lack of vaccination recommendations and misconceptions. Studies have explored pharmacists’ vaccination knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviour overseas but limited information about pharmacists in Singapore is available. This study aims to investigate pharmacists’ vaccination knowledge, attitudes towards providing vaccination services, and their educational needs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on pharmacists in various practice settings using an anonymous online survey. Results: Pharmacists’ vaccination knowledge (median: 2; IQR: 1–3), confidence in providing vaccination services (median: 6; IQR: 5–8), and frequency of providing vaccination services (median: 2; IQR: 1–3) were only average. However, 74.3% of pharmacists agreed that they play an important role as vaccine advocates. Apparent differences in knowledge level (<i>p</i> = 0.008), confidence level (<i>p</i> = 0.001), attitude (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and the frequency of educating patients (<i>p</i> = 0.001) and recommending vaccinations (<i>p</i> < 0.001) were observed among pharmacists from different practice settings. The main barriers identified were discomfort with giving injections (38.5%) and a lack of skills or knowledge (28.3%) at the point of survey. Conclusions: Pharmacists see the importance of their role as vaccine advocates. However, their vaccination knowledge, confidence in providing vaccination services, and practice behaviours are only average due to inadequate training. Continuous professional education is required to increase pharmacists’ readiness to provide vaccination services.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/11/1219vaccine providerpharmacistsattitudesknowledgeeducational needs |
| spellingShingle | Ally L. Au Deborah M. Chia Pei-Shi Ong Vaccination Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Educational Needs of Pharmacists in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study Vaccines vaccine provider pharmacists attitudes knowledge educational needs |
| title | Vaccination Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Educational Needs of Pharmacists in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full | Vaccination Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Educational Needs of Pharmacists in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_fullStr | Vaccination Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Educational Needs of Pharmacists in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vaccination Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Educational Needs of Pharmacists in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_short | Vaccination Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Educational Needs of Pharmacists in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_sort | vaccination knowledge attitudes perceptions and educational needs of pharmacists in singapore a cross sectional study |
| topic | vaccine provider pharmacists attitudes knowledge educational needs |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/11/1219 |
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