PURPOSE: To increase usage of the herpes zoster (HZ) vaccine at an academic medical center by studying physicians' knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceived barriers and analyze the findings by practice setting. METHODS: A cross-sectional Internet-based survey administered to all 266 general internal medicine physicians in 4 clinical settings at an academic medical center between October 6 and December 12, 2011. Outcomes measures included knowledge questions regarding the disease and vaccine recommendations, Likert-type items about physician attitudes and practices, and questions about barriers and proposed interventions to improve utilization. RESULTS: Response rate was 33.5% (89 of 266). Responders did not answer all questions. Only 66% (42 of 64) responded that HZ vaccination was an important clinical priority, and 48% (38 of 79) reported that less than 10% of their patients received the HZ vaccine. 95% responded that the influenza (61 of 64) and 92% that the pneumococcal (59 of 64) vaccines were important. Approximately 53% (42 of 79) and 51% (40 of 78) reported that more than 75% of their patients received these vaccines, respectively. Top barrier to vaccination was cost to patients (51 of 66; 77%). Lack of awareness of national recommendations (46 of 65, 71%) varied by setting. Physicians' preferred interventions included nurse-initiated prompting about vaccination (36 of 75, 48%) and chart reminders (34 of 74, 46%). CONCLUSIONS: Not only increased knowledge but also a change in attitudes and practice are needed to enhance implementation of national recommendations. To improve use of this vaccine, physicians including ophthalmologists need to recommend it more strongly.
PURPOSE: To increase usage of the herpes zoster (HZ) vaccine at an academic medical center by studying physicians' knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceived barriers and analyze the findings by practice setting. METHODS: A cross-sectional Internet-based survey administered to all 266 general internal medicine physicians in 4 clinical settings at an academic medical center between October 6 and December 12, 2011. Outcomes measures included knowledge questions regarding the disease and vaccine recommendations, Likert-type items about physician attitudes and practices, and questions about barriers and proposed interventions to improve utilization. RESULTS: Response rate was 33.5% (89 of 266). Responders did not answer all questions. Only 66% (42 of 64) responded that HZ vaccination was an important clinical priority, and 48% (38 of 79) reported that less than 10% of their patients received the HZ vaccine. 95% responded that the influenza (61 of 64) and 92% that the pneumococcal (59 of 64) vaccines were important. Approximately 53% (42 of 79) and 51% (40 of 78) reported that more than 75% of their patients received these vaccines, respectively. Top barrier to vaccination was cost to patients (51 of 66; 77%). Lack of awareness of national recommendations (46 of 65, 71%) varied by setting. Physicians' preferred interventions included nurse-initiated prompting about vaccination (36 of 75, 48%) and chart reminders (34 of 74, 46%). CONCLUSIONS: Not only increased knowledge but also a change in attitudes and practice are needed to enhance implementation of national recommendations. To improve use of this vaccine, physicians including ophthalmologists need to recommend it more strongly.
Authors: T Mark Doherty; Mark P Connolly; Giuseppe Del Giudice; Johan Flamaing; Jorg J Goronzy; Beatrix Grubeck-Loebenstein; Paul-Henri Lambert; Stefania Maggi; Janet E McElhaney; Hideaki Nagai; William Schaffner; Ruprecht Schmidt-Ott; Edward Walsh; Alberta Di Pasquale Journal: Eur Geriatr Med Date: 2018-03-19 Impact factor: 1.710
Authors: Chelsea S Lutz; David K Kim; Carla L Black; Sarah W Ball; Rebecca G Devlin; Anup Srivastav; Amy Parker Fiebelkorn; Carolyn B Bridges Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2018-07-24 Impact factor: 5.043