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Multidisciplinary perspective on a pharmacist-led vaccination clinic in a regional cancer care setting: A qualitative
Kristoffer Johnstone1,2, Joyce Cooper3,4, John Smithson1
1College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Background:
Immunosuppression in patients with cancer increases susceptibility to vaccine-preventable diseases, with suboptimal vaccination rates attributed to complex treatment schedules, timing of vaccination and uncertainty in relation to vaccination effectiveness. While pharmacists are routinely vaccinating patients in the community, high-risk cohorts, such as oncology patients, often lack access to dedicated vaccine services in hospital outpatient settings. Pharmacist-led vaccination clinics offer a promising solution to overcome existing barriers by integrating accessible, trusted healthcare professionals into patients' treatment location, to improve uptake through timely, co-located, and coordinated care. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of healthcare professionals regarding the implementation of a pharmacist-led vaccine clinic in an outpatient oncology unit.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with pharmacists, nurses, and doctors from a single site regional referral hospital. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, deductively and inductively coded and thematically analysed, with emerging themes mapped to the constructs of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory: relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, observability and trialability.
Results:
Nineteen interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals, including seven pharmacists, six nurses and six doctors. Factors identified for successful implementation of a pharmacist-led vaccination clinic included patient-centred models, improved convenience and reduced complexity for patients, and compatibility with pharmacists' existing knowledge and role in outpatient units. Barriers were found to be work overload for pharmacists, reduced interaction with general practitioners, and lack of understanding of pharmacists' vaccination training.
Conclusion:
Healthcare professionals expressed strong support for a pharmacist-led vaccine clinic in an outpatient oncology unit, recognising the potential to improve vaccination rates. Future research should however focus on assessing patient acceptance of such a service and the impact of such a clinic on vaccination rates.
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