Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in a high infection-rate country: a cross-sectional study in Russia

Background: COVID-19 vaccine development is proceeding at an unprecedented pace. Once COVID-19 vaccines become widely available, it will be necessary to maximize public vaccine acceptance and coverage.Objective: This research aimed to analyze the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Russia.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among Russian adults from September 26th to November 9th, 2020. Predictors of the intent to take up COVID-19 vaccination were explored using logistic regression.Results: Out of 876 participants, 365 (41.7%) would be willing to receive the vaccine if it became available. Acceptance increased for a vaccine with verified safety and effectiveness (63.2%). Intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine was relatively higher among males (aOR=2.37, 95% CI 1.41-4.00), people with lower monthly income (aOR=2.94, 95%CI 1.32-6.57), and with positive trust in the healthcare system (aOR=2.73, 95% CI 1.76-4.24). The Russian people were more likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccine if they believed that the vaccine reduces the risk of virus infection (aOR=8.80, 95%CI 5.21-14.87) or relieves the complications of the disease (aOR=10.46, 95%CI 6.09-17.96). Other barriers such as being unconcerned about side-effects (aOR=1.65, 95%CI 1.03-2.65) and the effectiveness and safety of the vaccination (aOR=2.55, 95%CI 1.60-4.08), also affected acceptance.Conclusions: The study showed the usefulness of the health belief model constructs in understanding the COVID-19 vaccination acceptance rate in the Russian population. This rate was influenced by sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, and health beliefs. These findings might help guide future efforts for policymakers and stakeholders to improve vaccination rates by enhancing trust in the healthcare system

Development and validation of a scale to measure the quality of patient medication counseling using Rasch model

Objective: The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the psychometric properties of a scale for measuring the quality of patient medication counseling by using the Rasch model. Methods: In this study, the scale was developed based on the literature review. It consisted of 31 items across five subscales: introduction, problem identification, content, behavior, and conclusion. A convenient sample of community pharmacists was recruited from four major cities in Vietnam: Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh, and Can Tho. Data collection was conducted from June 10 to October 30, 2017. A Rasch analysis for polytomous data was performed to assess the suitability of the item and the reliability of the scale. Results: The research results showed that all items had a positive point-measure correlation coefficient between 0.47 and 0.77. All items had infit and outfit values in the optimal range between 0.5 and 1.5 except for D5, but its value was within acceptable range. Differential item function analysis indicated that all items had no DIF, except for items B4 and E4 containing moderate magnitude of DIF. Response category statistics found that there was a gradual increase in difficulty level from category 1 to 5 and no presence of reversal. Infit and outfit statistics of these categories were also considered good, with their values close to 1. The test result of the item characteristic curve and the person-item map showed that there were some overlapping items. Their appearance, however, might play an important role in measuring different aspects of construct. The overall scale reliability index (0.97) was high and the overall scale separation index (6.11) was good. Conclusions: The developed scale satisfied the requirements of the Rasch model. The scale is a useful tool that could be used to measure the quality of patient medication counseling among community pharmacists

Elderly consumers’ satisfaction with the quality of community pharmacy services in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: a Q-methodology study

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to understand elderly consumers’ satisfaction on the community pharmacy services in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Materials and methods: A sample of 32 consumers, aged over 60, was recruited in four pharmacies in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from December, 2017 to January, 2018. Q-methodology was used to identify the patterns of consumers’ satisfaction. Results: Two distinct patterns of elderly consumers’ viewpoints toward the community pharmacy services were identified. Elderly consumers in viewpoint 1 were satisfied with the geographic accessibility of community pharmacies. Elderly consumers in viewpoint 2 were satisfied with the affordability of medicines. However, consumers of both viewpoints expressed dissatisfaction with the pharmacy staff counseling on missed doses, storage, side effects, and interactions of medicines. Conclusion: The results from this study suggest that pharmacy staff need to spend more time for consultations on proper medication use with elderly consumers