Key stakeholder perspectives on delivery of vaccination services in Quebec community pharmacies.

Background: Undervaccination is a public health issue that disproportionately affects underserved populations. Pharmacists are accessible health care professionals who have the potential to better reach communities. The aim of this study is to understand how organizational obstacles influence the pharmacist's ability to meet underserved clients' vaccination needs in community pharmacy.

Implementation of an adult life-course vaccine review service, VaxCheck, in community pharmacy: A qualitative analysis.

Background: Community pharmacists are well placed to identify and vaccinate unimmunized or under-immunized individuals who can put themselves and communities at risk of preventable disease. We designed and tested VaxCheck, a novel life-course vaccine review service that can be used to raise awareness and guide personal vaccination action plans, in community pharmacies in Ontario, Canada.

Objective: To understand the experiences of community pharmacists and staff directly involved with providing the VaxCheck service as part of initial testing.

Connect, collaborate and tailor: a model of community engagement through infographic design during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Across the globe, racial and ethnic minorities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 with increased risk of infection and burden from disease. Vaccine hesitancy has contributed to variation in vaccine uptake and compromised population-based vaccination programs in many countries. Connect, Collaborate and Tailor (CCT) is a Public Health Agency of Canada funded project to make new connections between public health, healthcare professionals and underserved communities in order to create culturally adapted communication about COVID-19 vaccines.

Uptake and outcomes of VaxCheck, an adult life-course vaccination service: A study among community pharmacists.

Vaccination rates among Canadian adults remain suboptimal. Community pharmacists have increasingly adopted an active role in vaccination and are trusted by the public to provide vaccination-related advice and care. The aim of this prospective descriptive study was to develop and test a novel clinical service, VaxCheck, to support proactive life-course vaccination assessments by community pharmacists.

The Association between Academic Performance and Entry-to-Practice Milestones within a Co-Operative Education PharmD Program.

Research on associations between student performance in pharmacy programs and entry-to-practice milestones has been limited in Canada and in programs using a co-operative (co-op) education model. Co-op exposes students to a variety of opportunities both within direct patient care roles and in non-traditional roles for pharmacists, such as policy, advocacy, insurance, research, and the pharmaceutical industry. The purpose of this research is to analyze associations between student grades and evaluations achieved in the University of Waterloo (UW) Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) co-op program and success rates on entry-to-practice milestones, including the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) Pharmacist Qualifying Examination and performance on final-year clinical rotations.

Estimating implicit and explicit racial and ethnic bias among community pharmacists in Canada.

Background: Bias, whether implicit (unconscious) or explicit (conscious), can lead to preferential treatment of specific social groups and antipathy towards others. When healthcare professionals (HCPs), including pharmacists, act on these biases, patient care and health outcomes can be adversely affected. This study aims to estimate implicit and explicit racial/ethnic bias towards Black and Arab people among community pharmacists in Ontario, Canada.

Willingness of Canadian community pharmacists to adopt a proactive life-course approach to vaccination services.

Background: Most Canadian jurisdictions authorize pharmacists to administer vaccines, with differences in vaccine and patient age eligibility. Vaccination rates could be further optimized if pharmacists took a more proactive role in life-course vaccine screening and administration. Health professional vaccine fatigue following the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively impact service delivery.

Herpes zoster and human papillomavirus vaccination opportunities identified using electronic prompts at the time of scheduling influenza or COVID-19 vaccines.

Background: Due to workload and competing priorities, vaccination-related interactions in community pharmacies tend to be more reactive than proactive. The aim of this study is to determine the proportion of users of a web-based scheduling system for influenza and COVID-19 vaccines who may be eligible for herpes zoster or human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and interested in discussing these vaccines with a pharmacist.

Methods: Individuals scheduling an influenza or COVID-19 vaccine at a pharmacy using the MedEssist platform between October 2021 and March 2022 were asked about their vaccination status against HPV (if aged 9-45) or herpes zoster (if aged ≥50).

"Flying a plane and building it at the same time": Lessons learned from the dynamic implementation of mass vaccination clinics in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Vaccination plays a critical role during pandemics, and mass vaccination clinics are often an imperative public health measure. These clinics usually consist of multi-disciplinary teams, which can pose significant coordination challenges, yet also present an opportunity for collectively contributing towards mitigating the impact of infection within communities. This study explores the coordination dynamics of the Region of Waterloo's coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) mass vaccination clinics in Ontario, Canada, between July 2021 and April 2022.

Role satisfaction among community volunteers working in mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics, Waterloo Region, Canada.

Introduction: Unpaid community volunteers are a vital public health resource in times of crisis. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, community volunteers were mobilized to support mass vaccination efforts in many countries. To have this group's continued engagement, it is essential to understand the community volunteer experience, including the opportunities and challenges they encounter and how these contribute to their role satisfaction.

Unintended consequences of communicating rapid COVID-19 vaccine policy changes- a qualitative study of health policy communication in Ontario, Canada.

Background: The success of the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out depended on clear policy communication and guidance to promote and facilitate vaccine uptake. The rapidly evolving pandemic circumstances led to many vaccine policy amendments. The impact of changing policy on effective vaccine communication and its influence in terms of societal response to vaccine promotion are underexplored; this qualitative research addresses that gap within the extant literature.

Understanding the COVID-19 Vaccine Policy Terrain in Ontario Canada: A Policy Analysis of the Actors, Content, Processes, and Context.

(1) Background: Canada had a unique approach to COVID-19 vaccine policy making. The objective of this study was to understand the evolution of COVID-19 vaccination policies in Ontario, Canada, using the policy triangle framework. (2) Methods: We searched government websites and social media to identify COVID-19 vaccination policies in Ontario, Canada, which were posted between 1 October 2020, and 1 December 2021.

The impact of influenza on the ability to work, volunteer and provide care: results from an online survey of Canadian adults 50 years and older.

Background: Influenza is associated with a decline in functional abilities among Canadian older adults, although specific impacts on daily life have not been fully explored.

Methods: In August 2019 and May 2020, we conducted surveys of Canadian adults 50-64 years and 65 years and older through an online market research platform. The survey included questions about the impact of diagnosed influenza or self-reported influenza-like-illness (ILI) on working, volunteering and caregiving.

Geographic distribution of Ontario pharmacists: A focus on rural and northern communities.

Introduction: Canadians living in rural and northern communities face particular health needs and challenges in accessing primary care services. Ontario pharmacists are increasingly able to optimize patient care with a broadening scope of practice; this was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the geographic distribution of pharmacists to evaluate their potential to deliver health care in rural and northern Ontario communities.

Identifying vaccination deserts: The availability and distribution of pharmacists with authorization to administer injections in Ontario.

Introduction: Pharmacist-administered immunizations have been associated with improved vaccination rates; however, little is known about whether areas with little to no access to this service ("vaccination deserts") exist. The objective of this work is to determine the geographic availability of pharmacists with authorization to administer injections in the province of Ontario.

Methods: Ontario College of Pharmacists registry data were used to identify patient care-providing pharmacists in community pharmacies and their ability to administer injections.

Understanding predictors of pneumococcal vaccine uptake in older adults aged 65 years and older in high-income countries across the globe: A scoping review.

Background: Pneumococcal disease causes substantial morbidity and mortality in older adults. Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) is routinely recommended to reduce the disease burden in this population. However, the vaccination coverage in older adults remains suboptimal in high-income countries.

Integrating the CARD (Comfort Ask Relax Distract) system in a mass vaccination clinic to improve the experience of individuals during COVID-19 vaccination: a pre-post implementation study.

Many people have negative experiences with vaccination due to stress-related reactions including fear and pain. We used a pre-post study design to evaluate the impact of implementing a modified version of the CARD (Comfort-Ask-Relax-Distract) system on stress-related reactions in individuals aged 12 y or older undergoing COVID-19 vaccinations in mass vaccination clinics. Vaccine recipients reported their level of pain, fear and dizziness during vaccination.

Pharmacy students' perceived willingness and ability to negotiate for paid co-operative education positions.

Background: Evidence of a gender wage gap has been identified across many professions, with some evidence in pharmacy. Negotiation is one potential strategy to address this gap and it is underutilized, especially among women. No studies to date have examined pharmacy student perceptions of negotiation when applying for co-operative education positions - a potential sign of willingness to negotiate for entry-level positions upon graduation.

Experiential education supervisors as assessors of pharmacy student injection technique.

Background And Purpose: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students at the University of Waterloo in spring 2020 enrolled in the injections training curriculum were unable to complete the practical assessment component under the usual in-person model. Therefore, an alternative assessment strategy needed to be adopted to meet these curricular outcomes.

Educational Activity And Setting: To allow students to complete their training and apply this skill during co-operative work placements in fall 2020, pharmacist supervisors (preceptors) who were authorized to administer injections were asked to evaluate the practical assessment on behalf of the university.

The role of pharmacy technicians in vaccination services: a scoping review.

Background: A busy pharmacy workload may limit a pharmacist's ability to meet the needs of vaccine-willing patients and also contribute to missed opportunities to engage with vaccine hesitant individuals. Opportunities for pharmacy technicians to support vaccination services may play a role in addressing increasing patient vaccination needs.

Purpose: This research aims to review the role of pharmacy technicians in vaccination services that is supported by pharmacy practice research to date.

Distributing Publicly-Funded Influenza Vaccine-Community Pharmacies' Perspectives on Acquiring Vaccines from Public Health and from Private Distributors in Ontario, Canada.

Objectives: To explore community pharmacies' experience with two models of distribution for publicly-funded influenza vaccines in Ontario, Canada-one being publicly-managed (2015-2016 influenza season) and one involving private pharmaceutical distributors (2016-2017 season).

Methods: Online surveys were distributed to community pharmacies across Ontario during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 influenza seasons with sampling proportional to Ontario Public Health Unit catchment populations. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially and qualitative data were summarized for additional context.