Pharmacy Students Ready to Address Vaccine Hesitancy

Overall, US pharmacy students feel confident in their ability to address the growing issue of vaccine hesitancy and refusal, according to a study published in Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning.

Researchers polled students who were in their second-to-last didactic and experiential years at pharmacy schools across the United States. A total 1433 students participated in a 30-item electronic survey designing to gauge their comfort addressing the issue.

“Pharmacists are well suited to address vaccine hesitancy; however, the extent to which they feel trained to do so may vary,” researchers explained.

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most confident, student pharmacists averaged a 4 in their self-perceived preparedness to address patient immunization concerns, hesitancy, and refusal. The study did, however, reveal varying levels of confidence when it came to addressing specific vaccine-related controversies.

“Students held beliefs of responsibility for limiting non-vaccination,” researchers wrote, “but felt less confident in addressing concerns regarding specific vaccine components and immune system overload.”

Reference:
Wick JA, Henneman A. Pharmacy student perceptions of their preparedness to address vaccine hesitancy and refusal. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2021;13(10):1324-1331. doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2021.07.003