| Summary: | Saleh F Alqifari,1,2 Mohammed A Binswelim,3 Tasneem H Atia,4 Renad B Alzaaq,4 Rim Mouzhir,4 Palanisamy Amirthalingam1 1Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 2College of Dentistry & Pharmacy, Buraydah Colleges, AlQassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 3College of Medicine, Qassim University, AlQassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 4College of Medicine, Sulaiman Alrajhi University, AlQassim, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Saleh F Alqifari, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Email salqifari@ut.edu.saObjective: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide evidence-based recommendations on vaccine use in the US Current CDC recommendations for the two available pneumococcal vaccine types can be confusing for providers and nursing staff, introducing the potential for administering the wrong product to patients. The pneumococcal vaccine products come with specific recommendations and target-specific patient groups. This intervention aims to improve pneumococcal vaccine practices per CDC recommendations, at primary health-care centers in Saudi Arabia.Materials and Methods: This intervention is conducted with nursing staff and mid-level providers. An educational intervention consisting of a five-question assessment questionnaire and containing brief scenario cases on pneumococcal vaccine indication. The assessment questionnaire was administered twice separated by a brief educational session on proper vaccine use by a clinical pharmacist. The educational intervention and the pre/post assessment required 15 min to complete. Assessments were collected, and a pre-intervention assessment was compared with a post-intervention assessment to capture the effect of the educational intervention. Test score changes from the baseline were analyzed via a paired Student’s t-test.Results: Eighty-five nursing staff and mid-level providers completed the assessment. Questionnaire scores signaled an improvement trend in both centers, but the results were not statistically significant in center 1 (p=0.767) and center 2 (p=0.125).Conclusion: Focusing education on nursing staff by clinical pharmacists on proper vaccine use does not appear to be as effective as previously thought. The desire for improvement in practices was evident in the overwhelming desire to participate in the educational session by nursing staff and mid-level providers. However, the results reflect the complex nature of vaccine practices and the need for further training on proper vaccine use for nursing and mid-level providers.Keywords: pneumococcal vaccine, vaccines, public health, primary care, clinical pharmacy
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