NCT06547814

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Counseling Intervention for Pharmacists: A Stepped-Wedge Trial

Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Community Pharmacies Reducing Disparities Through an Implementation Science Approach

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 99 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to test if virtual facilitation (e.g., video coaching) increases rural pharmacists' ability to implement COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy counseling when compared to a "standard" implementation approach (e.g., training and dissemination of implementation support tools) in rural pharmacies. The main question it aims to answer is if virtual facilitation improves fidelity to a newly developed vaccine hesitancy counseling intervention when compared to standard implementation. All participants will begin in the standard implementation condition, where they will complete a webinar on COVID-19 vaccinations and a 30-minute online training on vaccine hesitancy communication. After standard implementation, they will switch to the virtual facilitation condition where they will be assigned a virtual coach to help them with implementing the intervention. There will be six fidelity observations per each 8-week intervention period to determine whether pharmacists are implementing the intervention as intended. Researchers will compare fidelity between the standard and virtual facilitation conditions.

Detailed description

Because COVID-19 vaccination conversations are sensitive and often politically charged, pharmacists need implementation support, including training and ongoing guidance to deliver evidence-based vaccine hesitancy counseling interventions. Implementation facilitation, in which trained facilitators coach and troubleshoot problems with professionals as they implement new practices, increases adoption of practices with fidelity. However, implementation facilitation generally, and virtual facilitation (e.g., video coaching) in particular, has not been systematically studied in community pharmacy settings. The goal of this study is to test if virtual facilitation increases rural pharmacists' ability to implement COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy counseling when compared to a "standard" implementation approach (e.g., training and dissemination of implementation support tools). Using a rural pharmacy practice-based research network (PBRN) that spans 7 southeastern states, the investigators will conduct a stepped-wedge trial with 30 rural pharmacies to test whether virtual facilitation outperforms the standard approach in increasing the fidelity with which pharmacists implement the vaccine hesitancy counseling intervention. Using a project-sponsored data collection system, the investigators will gather data on implementation outcomes, including fidelity and effectiveness. All participants will begin in the standard implementation condition, where they will complete a webinar on COVID-19 vaccinations and a 30-minute online training on vaccine hesitancy communication. After the standard implementation period, they will cross over to the virtual facilitation condition where they will be assigned a virtual coach to help them with implementing the intervention. There will be six fidelity observations per each 8-week intervention period to determine whether pharmacists are implementing the intervention as intended. Researchers will compare fidelity between the standard and virtual facilitation conditions. Based on a proposed Fall 2024 vaccine administration schedule by the Federal Drug Administration, the investigators anticipate implementing the study over two vaccination seasons (Fall 2024 and Fall 2025).

Conditions

• COVID-19

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Standard implementation webinar and online training	The one-hour webinar (either live or pre-recorded) will include updated information about the COVID-19 virus, variant nomenclature, vaccine eligibility, mechanisms of action, and outcomes. The 30-minute online training addresses how to communicate about COVID-19 vaccinations, presents a 5-step process for initiating conversations, includes example verbiage about how to address specific concerns, and has example videos that show how to implement the 5-step process with vaccine hesitant patients.
BEHAVIORAL	Virtual facilitation	This intervention involves a 30-minute virtual facilitation site visit and at least 8, 30-minute virtual facilitator coaching sessions. The virtual site visit over Zoom will establish the personnel and workflows at each pharmacy and allow the facilitator to establish rapport. Weekly Zoom calls will allow the virtual facilitator to work with a participant to review overall implementation challenges associated with approaching patients, delivering the intervention, and documenting results. Lastly, either the facilitator or the participant can request and schedule a Zoom call to go over any pressing implementation issue in need of rapid attention (e.g., technical difficulties with the website).

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-08-05
• Primary completion: 2025-03-07
• Completion: 2025-04-01
• First posted: 2024-08-09
• Last updated: 2026-01-21
• Results posted: 2026-01-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States