The role of pharmacists in the delivery of influenza vaccinations
Section snippets
Background
Influenza is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the US. More than 200,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths each year can be attributed to influenza [1], [2]. Immunization is a key element in the prevention of influenza. However, adult immunization rates for influenza are well below the Healthy People 2010 goal of 90% [3]. Influenza immunization rates in 1995 ranged from 54 to 74% of the US population aged 65 years and over [4], [5].
Obstacles to immunization have been reported in
Methods
For this analysis, the 1995 and 1999 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was used. The BRFSS is an annual telephone survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that assesses health risks in the US. In this survey, individuals are asked, “During the past 12 months, have you had a flu shot?” The answer to this question was used to determine an individual’s influenza vaccine status.
Information regarding legislation allowing pharmacists to administer
Results
Fig. 1 shows the evolution of states allowing pharmacists to administer vaccinations. In 1995, nine states allowed pharmacists to administer vaccines. By 1999, this had increased to 30 states.
In 1995, states that were eventually to pass laws had more individuals aged 18–64 years immunized than states who did not pass these laws (P<0.01). There was no significant difference for influenza vaccination rates for individuals greater than 65 years old between these two sets of states (P=0.10). By
Discussion
In this comparison of two groups of states, legislation allowing pharmacists to administer vaccinations improved influenza vaccine rates for individuals 65 years and older. In addition, when looking at data from one specific year, individuals who resided in states where pharmacists were allowed to administer vaccines were more likely to be immunized than individuals who lived in states where pharmacists could not immunize. This difference held true after controlling for other demographic
Acknowledgements
This study was funded in part through grant 1D12HP00023-03 from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The authors wish to thank Mark Geesey, MS for his assistance with the statistical analysis and Tara Hogue for her editorial assistance.
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