Community Pharmacy Vaccine Education C5200: A Collaborative Approach Between Local Extension and Community Pharmacy to Increase Vaccine Education and Immunization Rates in Diverse Populations in Kentucky

A Collaborative Approach Between Local Extension and Community Pharmacy to Increase Vaccine Education and Immunization Rates in Diverse Populations in Kentucky Background/objectives The objective of this project is to address vaccine hesitancy and barriers to immunization among under immunized communities in Kentucky, including rural and urban minority communities. The Sars-Cov-2 pandemic has exposed challenges in immunization rates across the diverse population of Kentuckians. Minorities and rural communities specifically face a unique set of barriers to immunization against Sars-Cov-2. The aggregate state immunization rate is lower than the national average at 43%. In terms of the African American immunization in the state, only 24% of this population has been immunized, which is parallel to the national rate for this group. However, it is recognized that the African American community has a much higher rate of hospitalization and death in Kentucky. African Americans make up 4% of Covid-19 cases, but they result in 9% of Covid-19 deaths in Kentucky. Regarding rural communities, a recent survey conducted by Dr. Kiviniemi, Sukruthi Yerramreddy, MPH and the Kentucky Health Department, stated that 30.5% of participants were unlikely to vaccinate (Yerramreddy, 2022). Rural counties in western Kentucky, such as Carlisle, Hickman, and Graves, all have fewer than 50% of people fully vaccinated and while Spencer County only has 30.7% of residents fully vaccinated (CDC, 2022). Pharmacists have long been recognized as the most accessible healthcare provider with 90% of US residents living within 5 miles of a pharmacy. They have demonstrated the ability to play a critical role in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 by providing an established infrastructure for delivery of vaccines to many communities in the US. Recognizing this, many organizations including the federal government have created programs, such as the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program (FRPP), to use the strength and expertise of pharmacists to help rapidly vaccinate their communities. These models continue to expand in order to increase immunization rates across all available vaccines. We designed our project to be a collaboration between local community pharmacies and their respective county extension offices with assistance from the land grant offices of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. The primary objective of our project is to develop an approach to increase COVID-19 and other adult vaccine access in underserved communities through the development of collaborative relationships between local community pharmacies and local extension. The secondary objective includes assessing pharmacy services and extension services in these affected communities and developing a resource guide to link patients with healthcare services and with services that address social determinants of health. Methods We will identify 10 Kentucky counties with low vaccine rates, high social vulnerability index, and the ability to reach our priority population (minority or rural communities). The Program Coordinator will identify community pharmacy and local extension partners in the targeted communities to develop a plan for a collaborative approach to provide vaccine education and administration to underserved patient populations in these communities. A structured event to include vaccine education and administration will be coordinated as a “kick- off” event in each community. Student pharmacists will assist in the planning and execution of these events. All individuals aged 18 years and older who attend an outreach event will be invited to participate in the immunization clinic. Participants will be screened per CDC eligibility requirements for the desired vaccine. Vaccine education tools and resources will be developed and provided at the outreach events in order to increase educational engagement. After the conclusion of the outreach events, an aggregate report of the number of vaccinations and the vaccine administered will be compared to across all clinics. Information from all clinics will be compiled into a declassified report. A playbook will also be developed to assist pharmacies in future partnerships with extension offices on the planning and delivery of a vaccine clinic/health promotion event. Student pharmacists will conduct telephone outreach to all community pharmacies in the nine targeted counties and develop a survey to assess non-dispensing services offered by each pharmacy. This information will be used to develop a resource guide for pharmacy-delivered healthcare services in the community. Likewise, local extension offices have created a resource guide that local pharmacies can use as a guide for services that will address social determinants of health. Results: Research in Progress Conclusions: Research in Progress We believe that utilizing a collaborative approach that draws from the strengths of both local extension and pharmacies will expose and address barriers to immunizations across rural and minority communities throughout Kentucky.