Health Care Professionals' Herpes Zoster Awareness and Vaccine Recommendations for Patients with COPD.

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess health care professionals' (HCPs) knowledge of an increased herpes zoster (HZ) risk and burden for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), HCPs' familiarity with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP) HZ vaccine recommendations, and the HCPs' current adult vaccine practices. Another objective was to evaluate the impact of a short educational video on knowledge and future vaccine intent. Participants and Methods: An online survey of family physicians (FPs), pulmonologists, nurse practitioners (NPs), and physician assistants (PAs) querying demographics, awareness of ACIP HZ vaccine recommendations, and HZ burdens and risks in patients with COPD and their current recommendations for HZ, influenza, and pneumococcal vaccines was conducted. For those not strongly recommending HZ vaccines concordant with ACIP recommendations, a 5-minute educational video was presented, and post video questions assessed future intended HZ vaccine recommendations. Results: Among 1020 HCP responders, awareness and ACIP concordant HZ vaccine recommendations ranged from 59.0% to 95.2% across HCPs. Lowest recommendation rates were consistently reported by pulmonologists for the 2-dose HZ vaccine beginning at age 50; for the 2-dose vaccine use in those with prior 1-dose HZ vaccinations, and for those with prior HZ. Among all HCPs, HZ vaccine recommendations were lower than for pneumococcal and influenza vaccines. After viewing the educational video, reported vaccine recommendation intent increased significantly in all groups of HCPs, as did awareness of increased HZ risk among patients with COPD. Conclusions: Significant educational opportunities exist for HCPs related to HZ and its vaccine prevention among patients with COPD which may be responsive to brief, targeted interventions.