Open AccessTraining to address vaccine hesitancy in first-year students
Author(s) -
La Vonne A. Downey,
Cara Brock
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
pharmacy education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.198
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1477-2701
pISSN - 1560-2214
DOI - 10.46542/pe.2022.221.108115
Subject(s) - pharmacy , motivational interviewing , accreditation , interview , medical education , medicine , pharmacy education , covid-19 , family medicine , psychology , pharmacy practice , nursing , psychological intervention , disease , political science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law
Aim: This study's aim was to determine if an additional educational component on pharmacy students can increase their knowledge and skill level to address vaccine hesitancy and/or refusal related to a future Covid 19 vaccine. Methods: First-year pharmacy students were given additional education beyond what they received in their Accreditation Council for Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) module, on motivational interviewing (MI). They were given a pre-and post-survey assessing their knowledge and confidence in addressing vaccine hesitancy and the application of MI. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).Results: This study showed that additional motivational interviewing education had a significant impact on the student's knowledge, self-assessment of skills in talking to patients, and understanding how the skills impacted patients regarding vaccines both general and Covid-19 vaccines.Conclusion: The study’s findings indicate that additional training that focuses on motivational methods to engage patients is needed for students to be able to address vaccine hesitancy, especially when a new vaccine using different science is on the market.