2022 Incentive Grant Recipient: Caleb Melton, PharmD
Project Proposal: Impact of a Pharmacist-Led Vaccination Delivery Service on Vaccination Rates in an Elderly, Assisted-Living Population
Caleb Melton, PharmD. currently serves as the PGY1 Community Pharmacy Resident at Medicine Mart in West Columbia, South Carolina. He is a graduate of University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy.
"The motivation behind this project proposal mainly involved Medicine Mart’s patient population. We deliver medications to several assisted-living facilities in the area, so I was curious about the vaccination rates in this population. After some research, I saw there was a need for this vaccine delivery service in this population, so the motivation stems from this being a lucrative service as well as providing for an in-need population."
The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of implementing a pharmacist driven vaccine delivery service on the vaccination rates in the assisted-living population. This study will particularly focus on the vaccination rates of the pneumococcal, herpes zoster, and tetanus diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) vaccines. This study will serve as a potential model for community pharmacists to use in order to expand services that their pharmacy offers, as well as improve public health. It will also show the impact of a pharmacist with motivational interviewing experience on vaccine hesitancy and overall vaccination rates within a specific high-risk population.
"I am excited to be able to go and talk to and form relationships with our patients who are not able to come to the store to pick up their medications. I am also excited to see how much a pharmacist can impact the vaccination rate in a specific area, as this may be a service other pharmacies start to offer."