Experiences of community pharmacists administering COVID-19 vaccinations: A qualitative study.

Background: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacists have played an important role in the provision of patient care, including the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. The additional workload and related demands arising from these extended services might affect worklife burnout. This qualitative study explored the experiences of Canadian community pharmacists in providing COVID-19 vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Eighteen community pharmacists across 10 provinces were asked about vaccination processes and perceptions about their role in separate, virtual semistructured interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a deductive approach using the Areas of Worklife Burnout framework, with pharmacists' self-reported descriptions of their activities summarized using the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada's (AFPC) professional competencies framework. Results: Participants identified aspects of their role that were rewarding and challenging. Some challenges included lack of control, increased workload, inadequate communication, unfair treatment and conflicting values. They described being able to meet challenges and demonstrating resiliency via adaptability, developing communities and valuing their contribution to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-identified AFPC competencies contributing to their ability to manage their worklife included care-provider, professional, leader-manager, collaborator and scholar. Conclusion: Pharmacists accepted their additional responsibility of managing COVID-19 vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they expressed some challenges with this role. To ensure sustainability of these services, prioritizing adequate resources, work processes and efficient communication with all relevant stakeholder groups, including public health, government and corporate leaders, is recommended for the future. Can Pharm J (Ott) 2023;156(Suppl):xx-xx.

Pediatricians' perceptions, practices, and barriers regarding COVID-19 vaccine for children: A cross-sectional survey in Ontario, Canada.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 vaccination of all age-eligible populations is an important part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. In Ontario, vaccination coverage in 5-to-11-year-old children has remained lower than in other age groups. We sought to understand pediatricians' perception, practices, and barriers to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in children, particularly children aged 5-to-11 years, to inform interventions and promote capacity of pediatricians as vaccinators and vaccination promoters. METHODS: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study consisting of an online self-administered questionnaire distributed to 1,313 pediatricians in Ontario. Descriptive statistics, including Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests, were performed. RESULTS: In total, 152 Pediatricians responded (11.6% response rate), from February 17, 2022 to March 17, 2022. 78% of respondents were general pediatricians and 22% were pediatric subspecialists. Median years of practice was 17 (8-31), with 68% female, 32% male. Most pediatricians thought it was unlikely that children aged 5-to-11 years would become seriously ill from acute COVID-19 caused by Delta (66%) or Omicron (80%). 92% were very likely to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-to-11 years. COVID-19 vaccine was perceived as safe, with higher safety perception in children aged 5-to-11 compared to 12-to-17 years (p < 0.0001). COVID-19 vaccines were thought to be effective in reducing hospitalization or severe illness, and reducing SARS-CoV-2 infection, with higher perceived effectiveness against Delta compared to Omicron (p < 0.0001). 97% felt confident counselling caregivers of children aged 5-to-11 years on the COVID-19 vaccine. Few pediatricians did not feel confident in accessing resources for health professionals (6%) or for patients/caregivers (12%). CONCLUSIONS: Most surveyed pediatricians were very likely to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5-to-11-years, perceived COVID-19 vaccines as safe and effective, and felt confident in their COVID-19 vaccine counselling for children aged 5-to-11 years. However, there remains areas for further training and capacity development.

Medication Reviews and Clinical Outcomes in Persons with Dementia: A Scoping Review.

Persons diagnosed with dementia are often faced with challenges related to polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use and could benefit from regular medication reviews. However, the benefit of such reviews has not been examined in this population. Therefore, the current scoping review was designed to identify the gaps in the current knowledge regarding the impact of medication reviews on the clinical outcomes in older adults with dementia. Relevant studies were identified by searching three databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, and Scopus) from inception to January 2022 with a combination of keywords and medical subject headings. After the removal of duplicates and ineligible articles, 22 publications of the initial 8346 were included in this review. A total of 57 outcomes were identified, including those pertaining to the evaluation of medication use (n = 17), drug-related interventions (n = 11), drug-related problems (n = 10), dementia-related behavioral symptoms (n = 8), cost-effectiveness (n = 2), drug-related hospital admissions (n = 1), as well as outcomes classified as other (n = 7). Gaps identified through this scoping review included the paucity of studies measuring the impact of medication reviews on the medication management capacity and medication adherence, quality of life, and mortality.

Dataset on cost-analysis of medication deprescribing scenarios for older adult coverage under public drug benefit programs in Canada.

The dataset covers the equations and procedure used for the estimation of an older adult's total annual medication costs, across Canadian provinces and territories; detailed to report pharmacy margin, government share, and patient share. We presented a case of an older adult using 10 different medications commonly used, according to Canadian Institute for Health Information. Eight different deprescribing scenarios were created, based on recommendations from Beers Criteria and the Canadian Deprescribing Network, for the purpose of comparing the cost difference before and after each intervention on pharmacies, patients, and governments. Scenarios included: (1) Stopping an over the counter medication; (2) Discontinuation of a medication; (3) Slow taper of a potentially inappropriate medication; (4) Rapid taper of a potentially inappropriate medication; (5) Switching to safer medication; (6) Dose reduction; (7) Switching to a lower cost medication; (8) Changing from combination to a single medication. The data presented are related to the article entitled "Financial advantage or barrier when deprescribing for seniors: A case based analysis" [1].