Impact of community pharmacists advocating immunization on influenza vaccination rates among the elderly

This study was carried out to investigate whether the personal advocacy of influenza vaccination by community pharmacists to people aged 65 years and above affected the vaccination rate and number of influenza patients. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with the cooperation of 84 community pharmacies in the wards of Suginami and Nerima, Tokyo. Participants were aged 65 years and above living in Suginami and Nerima wards, Tokyo, receiving dispensing services in their community pharmacies. The intervention was that pharmacists in the intervention pharmacy group provided information on the risk of influenza and benefits of influenza vaccination. Main outcome measures were the self-reported influenza vaccination rate in January 2004, and the number of participants with influenza, as confirmed by inspection of their prescriptions from January to May 2004. The vaccination rate in the intervention pharmacy group (81.6%) was significantly higher than that in the control pharmacy group (64.9%). The number of participants with influenza among the intervention group (2/881) was significantly lower than that among the control group (11/895). The personal advocacy of influenza vaccination by community pharmacists among people aged 65 years and above increases the vaccination rate and decreases the number of influenza patients.