Parents' perceptions of pharmacists as providers of influenza vaccine to children

Objective: To examine parents' experience with the process of obtaining the influenza vaccine and their perceptions about pharmacists providing influenza vaccination services to their children. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: Wisconsin between November 2011 and April 2012. Participants: Children receiving an influenza vaccination from a Unity Health Insurance (UHI)-covered pharmacy between September and December 2011 were identified from pharmacy claims data, and parents of the children were sent a letter requesting their participation in the study. Intervention: Online survey. Main outcome measures: Parents' experience with the process of obtaining the influenza vaccine and their perceptions about pharmacists providing influenza vaccinations to their children. Results: 179 parents received a letter from UHI requesting their participation in the study, and the usable response rate for the study was 48%. Parents' experience with the process of obtaining the influenza vaccine was positive. A majority of parents did not need an appointment (98%) and visited a pharmacy during the hours of 3: 05 pm to 6: 00 pm (51%). Approximately 97% of the responding parents felt confident about the pharmacist providing influenza vaccinations to their children. Conclusion: Parents appear to be willing to accept pharmacists as an immunization resource for their children.