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Increasing COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Among Patients With Serious Mental Illness: A Pilot Intervention Study
Carol Lim1, Manjola U Van Alphen1, Sarah Maclaurin1
1Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (Lim, Maclaurin, Mulligan, Cather, Freudenreich); Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston (Lim, Van Alphen, Cather, Freudenreich); North Suffolk Mental Health Association, Boston (Van Alphen, Maclaurin, Mulligan, Macri).
Objective:
This pilot project aimed to maximize COVID-19 vaccine uptake among patients with serious mental illness. Psychiatric providers were engaged to directly address COVID-19 vaccine-related concerns with patients during outpatient visits.
Methods:
A quality improvement project encouraged COVID-19 vaccinations in a cohort of outpatients treated with clozapine (N=193, ages 19-81 years, mean age=46.4 years) at a community mental health center. In-service education was provided to clinicians to identify vaccine-hesitant patients and build vaccine confidence. A vaccination-monitoring tool was created and embedded in patients' electronic medical records. Starting in February 2021, the tool guided semistructured interviews at each visit and supported population-based management.
Results:
The full COVID-19 vaccination rate by June 30, 2021, was 84% among the outpatients, compared with the estimated state rate on the same date of between 62.1% and 77.3%.
Conclusions:
The active involvement of psychiatric providers in preventive health care can help increase vaccination rates among patients with serious mental illness.
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