Healthcare providers’ awareness, attitudes, beliefs, and practices surrounding pharmacist-administered vaccination: Insights after a two-year intervention

Q: What was the purpose of the two-year intervention study?

To assess healthcare providers’ perceptions of pharmacists as immunizers after the intervention, focusing on awareness, attitudes, beliefs, and related practices.

Q: How were healthcare providers surveyed and who participated?

A validated, pre-tested cross-sectional online survey was distributed to pharmacists, physicians, and nurses in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; 223 respondents were included.

Q: What barriers did pharmacists report compared with nurses and physicians?

Pharmacists reported more pressure to vaccinate and logistical barriers, including solo practice workload and lack of tools to identify unvaccinated individuals.

Sep 29, 2026

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Despite expanded authority for pharmacists to provide immunizations, adult vaccine coverage in Canada remains below national targets. Online cross-sectional surveys of healthcare providers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were used to assess perceptions of pharmacists as immunizers. A validated pre-tested questionnaire was distributed to pharmacists, physicians, and nurses, yielding 223 respondents. Pharmacists reported higher social and professional pressure and more logistical barriers, while support for vaccine-administration roles across age groups was strongest among pharmacists.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Background on adult vaccination need

Expansion of pharmacists’ immunization authority

Added responsibilities and evolving immunization landscape

Study rationale

RESEARCH ARTICLE Healthcare providers’ awareness, attitudes, beliefs, and practices surrounding pharmacist-administered vaccination: Insights after a twoyear intervention Antonia M. Di Castri a,b, Donna M. Halperin a,c,d, Jennifer E. Isenor a,e, Melissa Kervin a, Wilfrid Kouokam Lowea, Lingyun Yea, Carrie A. Whittlea, Scott A. Halperina,d,f, and on behalf of the Improve ACCESS Team for the Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN) aCanadian Center for Vaccinology, Dalhousie University, IWK Health Centre, and the Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Canada; bDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; cRankin School of Nursing, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Canada; dDepartment of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Canada; eCollege of Pharmacy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada; fDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada ABSTRACT Despite the expanding scope of pharmacists’ practice to include immunization, vaccine coverage among adults in Canada remains below national targets. We conducted online surveys of healthcare providers (HCPs) that provide vaccines in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada, to determine their perceptions about pharmacists as immunizers. A validated and pre-tested cross-sectional survey was distributed to pharmacists, physicians, and nurses via professional associations, health authorities, and social media. Of the 223 respondents, 41.3% were pharmacists, 24.7% nurses and 34.1% physicians. Pharmacists described experiencing more social (81.0%) and professional (62.0%) pressure to administer vaccines, as compared to nurses (58.2% and 27.9%) and physicians (60.0% and 9.1%) (p = .004 and p < .001) . While pharmacists were well-informed and motivated to vaccinate, they faced logistical barriers including working in a solo practice setting (58.9%) and lack of tools to identify unvaccinated individuals (76.0%), as compared to nurses (20.0%, 51.7%) and physicians (26.6%, 25.0%) (p < .001) . Support for pharmacists’ role in administering vaccines for different age groups was highest among pharmacists (88.0% for adults, 88.0% for 5–18-year-olds, and 62.7% for children <5 y), followed by nurses (71.4%, 57.1%, and 46.9%), and physicians (60.0%, 47.1%, and 28.6%) (p ≤ .001) . Our findings suggest that pharmacists’ roles as immunizers may be facilitated by policies supporting: a pharmacist-accessible vaccine registry, adequate compensation and staffing support, specialized training for vaccinating young children, and advocacy from physicians and nurses. Research into pharmacists’ evolving professional identity and how their growing roles as vaccinators are perceived by other HCPs is recommended. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 16 June 2025 Revised 6 October 2025 Accepted 9 November 2025 KEYWORDS Immunization; vaccination; vaccination coverage; pharmacists; public health; scope of practice; health knowledge, attitudes, practice Introduction It is essential for adults to receive vaccinations to protect themselves and susceptible members of their communities (e.g., infants, children, pregnant and immunocompromised individuals) from infectious diseases.1,2 In an effort to improve vaccine uptake and coverage among adults, provinces and territories within Canada began authorizing pharmacists to administer vaccines recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI)3 as early as 2007 (in British Columbia) .4 At present, pharmacists in 11 of 13 provinces and territories have been approved to administer a range of NACI recommended vaccines to individuals five years of age and older.5 This trend aligns with global patterns, whereby pharmacists have been authorized to provide vaccines in 43 countries (as per International Pharmaceutical Federation) .6 Authorizing pharmacists as immunizers has been shown to improve vaccine uptake by the public,7 but has also led to added res

FAQs

What was the purpose of the two-year intervention study?

To assess healthcare providers’ perceptions of pharmacists as immunizers after the intervention, focusing on awareness, attitudes, beliefs, and related practices.

How were healthcare providers surveyed and who participated?

A validated, pre-tested cross-sectional online survey was distributed to pharmacists, physicians, and nurses in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; 223 respondents were included.

What barriers did pharmacists report compared with nurses and physicians?

Pharmacists reported more pressure to vaccinate and logistical barriers, including solo practice workload and lack of tools to identify unvaccinated individuals.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by acoobca